Little  Talks  to 
Children 

Preparing  for 

Holy  Communion 


ST.  LOUIS,  MO.,  1913 

Published  by  B.  Herder 
17  South  Broadway 


FREIBURG  (BADEN) 
Germany 


LONDON.  W.  C. 
68,  Great  Russell  Str, 


Little  Talks  to 
Children 

Preparing  for 

Holy  Communion 


ST.  LOUIS,  MO.,  1913 
Published  by  B.  Hkrder 
17  South  Broadway 


FREIBURG  (BADEN)      I  LONDON.  W.  C. 

Germany  68,  Great  Russell  Str. 


NIHIL  OBSTAT 
Sti.  Ludovici,  die  27.  Oct.  1913. 

F.  G.  HOLWECK, 

Censor  Liborum 

IMPRIMA  TUR 
Sti.  Ludovici ,  die  28.  Oct.  1913. 

Joannes  J.  Glenn  on, 

A  rch  iepi scopus 
Sti.  Ludovici. 


Copyright,  19 13, 
by 

Joseph  Gummersbach. 


All  rights  reserved \ 
Made  in  U,  S.  A. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 


I. 

God  as  Creator,  eternal  and  in- 

visible    

5 

II. 

God  is  almighty ;  He  is  everywhere ; 

He  knows  all  things  

10 

III. 

God  is  our  Father.    His  goodness 

towards  us   

15 

IV. 

The  Blessed  Trinity  

20 

V. 

The  Incarnation   

24 

VI. 

The  Redemption   

28 

VII. 

The  Blessed  Eucharist  _  

37 

VIII. 

Preparation  for  Holy  Communion  47 

IX. 

Receiving  Holy  Communion  

72 

3 


I.   GOD  AS  CREATOR,  ETERNAL  AND 
INVISIBLE. 

Yesterday  I  asked  a  little  boy,  who  God  is. 
And  he  said:  "God  is  our  Father."  Then  I 
said  to  him :  "But  haven't  you  an  earthlv 
father?  Isn't  there  some  one  at  home  whom 
you  call  your  father?  How  then  is  God  your 
father?"  And  he  stopped  for  a  minute  and 
then  said :  "God  is  everybody's  Father."  That 
was  a  very  good  answer  for  a  boy  to  give, 
who  is  only  six  and  a  half  years  old.  And  it 
is  as  good  an  answer  as  anybody  can  give : 
"God  is  everybody's  Father."  He  is  the  "Father 
of  all,"  as  St.  Paul  says  (Eph.  4:6).  God 
is  everybody's  Father,  because  He  made 
everybody.  How  do  we  know  that  God 
made  everybody?  Because  everybody  had  a 
beginning,  no  matter  how  old  he  is.  And  if 
everybody  had  a  beginning,  someone  must 
have  given  him  his  beginning,  that  is,  must 
have  made  him.  And  the  only  one  that  can 
give  a  man  a  beginning,  or  make  him,  is  God. 
If  you  are  six  years  of  age,  that  means  that 
5 


6 


God  as  Creator, 


you  began  to  live  six  years  ago.  If  you  are 
seven  years  of  age,  that  means  that  you  began 
to  live  seven  years  ago.  When  we  say  that 
a  man  is  twenty,  or  thirty,  or  fifty  years  old, 
we  mean  that  he  began  to  live  twenty,  or 
thirty,  or  fifty  years  ago.  You  began.  We  all 
began,  that  is,  we  all  had  a  beginning.  There 
was  a  time  when  you  didn't  live,  when  I 
didn't  live,  when  no  other  man,  woman  or 
child  lived.  God  gave  all  of  them  their  be- 
ginning, their  life,  because  only  God  could 
do  that.  And  God  made  this  world  that  we 
live  in,  and  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  and 
everything  else.  How  do  we  know  this?  We 
know  this,  because  all  thes^e  things  had  a 
beginning  as  well  as  we  did.  If  we  look  at  a 
house,  and  think  about  it,  we  see  that  the  house 
had  a  beginning,  that  it  could  not  make  itself, 
and  that  it  was  made  by  someone.  Now  when 
we  look  at  this  earth  we  live  on,  and  at  the 
sun,  moon  and  stars,  and  all  other  things, 
and  when  we  study  them  and  think  about 
them,  we  see  that  they  all  had  a  beginning; 
we  see  that  they  must  have  been  made  by 
someone,  just  as  a  house  must  be  made  by 
someone ;  and  the  One  who  made  all  these 
things  we  call  God.    That  was  a  long,  long, 


Eternal  and  Invisible.  7 


long  time  ago,  my  dear  children,  when  God 
made  the  earth,  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  and 
then  the  first  man  and  woman.  It  was  so 
long  ago,  that  you  would  not  understand  it, 
if  I  tried  to  tell  you.  And  if  I  tried  to  show 
you  just  how  we  know  that  God  made  all 
things,  how  He  gave  them  their  beginning, 
you  wouldn't  be  able  to  understand  that  either, 
for  you  are  not  yet  old  enough.  But  it  is 
enough  for  you  to  believe  me,  when  I  say  to 
you  that  God  made  us,  and  the  world  we 
live  in,  and  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  and 
everything  else.  And  when  you  believe  this, 
you  are  not  believing  merely  me,  but  you  are 
believing  God  Himself,  for  God  Himself  has 
made  it  all  known  to  us. 

God  Himself  had  no  beginning.  He  never 
began  to  live  as  we  did.  God  always  lived. 
He  always  was.  God  did  not  make  Himself, 
nor  did  anybody  else  make  Him.  He  always 
was  and  He  always  will  be.  That  is  why  we 
say  that  God  is  eternal;  that  is,  God  had  no 
beginning  and  He  will  have  no  end.  If  God 
had  a  beginning,  like  everything  else,  then 
nothing  could  ever  be,  because  there  could 
not  be  anything  to  give  a  beginning  to  any- 
thing.  Therefore,  our  reason  tells  us,  as  you 


8 


God  as  Creator, 


will  learn  when  you  are  older  and  able  to 
understand  it,  there  must  be  something  which 
never  had  a  beginning,  which  always  lived, 
always  was ;  and  that  Being,  who  always  was, 
we  call  God.  He  always  was  and  always  will 
be.  He  made  this  world  and  us,  and  every- 
thing else. 

We  do  not  see  God,  because  as  the  Cate- 
chism tells  you,  He  is  a  spirit,  the  most  pure 
spirit,  and,  therefore,  we  cannot  see  Him  with 
the  eyes  of  our  body.  If  you  go  into  a  room 
which  is  entirely  dark,  you  do  not  see  any- 
thing in  it.  It  may  be  full  of  things,  such 
as  tables,  chairs  and  other  furniture,  pictures 
on  the  walls,  and  although  you  have  eyes, 
you  cannot  see  them  or  anything  else  in  it. 
Why?  Because  there  is  no  light  in  that  dark 
room.  Turn  on  the  light,  and  you  can  see 
everything  in  it.  We  cannot  now  see  God, 
because  we  need  some  other  light  besides  our 
reason  and  the  light  we  have  on  earth  to  see 
God.  We  shall  be  able  to  see  God  in  heaven, 
after  our  death,  if  we  are  good  an<3  pure  dur- 
ing life,  for  the  "pure  of  heart  shall  see  God." 

Again,  let  us  consider  the  air.  There  is 
such  a  thing  as  air,  although  we  cannot  see  it 
with  our  eyes.   We  breathe  it  and  cannot  live 


Eternal  and  Invisible.  9 


without  it.  Although  we  cannot  see  it,  we 
can  feel  it,  and  also  see  what  it  does.  We 
see  the  trees  shaking  and  bending  when  the 
wind  blows ;  and  the  wind  is  only  the  air  in 
motion.  Some  of  you  have  probably  seen  a 
man  handling  a  flat  automobile  tire  that  goes 
on  the  wheels ;  and  he  takes  a  thing,  called  a 
pump,  and  puts  it  against  a  tube  in  the  rub- 
ber tire,  and  keeps  working  the  pump  up  and 
down.  After  a  while  the  rubber  tire  swells 
out,  and  becomes  round,  and  is  able  to  hold 
up  the  automobile.  What  has  the  man  pumped 
into  it?  He  pumped  air  into  it.  We  do  not 
see  the  air,  but  we  see  what  it  does,  and  we 
know  that  there  is  really  something  we  call 
air.  So,  we  don't  see  God,  but  we  know  that 
there  is  and  must  be  a  God,  who  has  made  all 
things,  for,  although  we  do  not  see  Him,  we 
see  what  He  has  made.  The  great  apostle, 
St.  Paul,  speaking  of  God,  says :  'The  in- 
visible things  of  Him,  from  the  creation  of  the 
world,  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by 
the  things  that  are  made,  His  eternal  power 
also,  and  divinity"  (Rom.  1 :  20). 


II.  GOD  IS  ALMIGHTY;  HE  IS  EVERY- 
WHERE; HE  KNOWS  ALL  THINGS. 

Yesterday  I  told  you  that  God  made  all 
things.  He  made  us  and  the  world  we  live 
in,  and  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  and  all  other 
things.  I  said  that  all  these  things  had  a 
beginning,  and  that  it  is  God  who  gave  them 
their  beginning  and  made  them.  God,  I  said 
also,  had  no  beginning;  He  is  eternal,  that  is, 
He  always  was  and  always  will  be.  I  said 
that  we  cannot  see  God  with  the  eyes  of  our 
body,  because  He  is  the  most  pure  spirit,  just 
as  we  cannot  see  things  that  are  in  a  room 
which  is  perfectly  dark,  although  we  have 
eyes  and  the  room  may  be  full  of  furniture 
and  other  things,  because  we  need  light  to 
see  them.  If  we  are  good  and  pure  during 
our  life,  we  shall  see  God  in  heaven  after  our 
death;  and  how  happy  it  will  make  us  for- 
ever, for  He  is  so  beautiful,  more  beautiful 
than  we  can  even  think  of.  I  said  also  that 
we  can  know  that  there  is  a  God,  and  many 
things  about  Him,  by  studying  the  world  and 
10 


God  Is  Almighty; 


11 


all  things  that  God  has  made,  just  as  we  can 
know  from  a  beautiful  house,  from  a  fine 
watch  that  they  were  made  by  men,  by  men 
that  were  very  smart. 

God  is  almighty;  that  is,  He  can  do  all 
things.  Men  can  do  some  things,  but  not  as 
God  does  them.  To  make  a  thing,  for  in- 
stance, to  make  a  bench,  a  man  needs  ma- 
terials, tools  and  time;  also  to  build  a  house; 
but  God,  when  He  wishes  to  make  something, 
needs  no  materials,  no  tools,  no  time;  all  He 
does  is  to  say:  "I  will  this  thing,"  and  all  at 
once  the  thing  is  there.  That  is  the  way  He 
made  the  earth,  the  sun,  moon  and  millions  of 
stars,  and  light,  and  made  the  earth,  sun,  moon 
and  stars  move  about  the  heavens  without 
stopping,  hundreds  of  times  faster  than  the 
fastest  railroad  train,  and  these  millions  of 
stars  move  regularly  all  the  time  and  never 
run  against  one  another;  and  to  do  all  this, 
He  merely  said:  "I  will  it  so."  Man  makes 
some  things,  but  as  I  said,  he  needs  for  this 
materials,  tools  and  time.  But  God  creates 
things,  that  is,  He  makes  them  out  of  nothing, 
without  materials,  without  tools,  and  all  at 
once;  therefore  He  is  called  the  Creator  of 
heaven  and  earth.    The  most  rich,  powerful 


12  He  Knows  All  Things. 


and  wise  man  cannot  make  even  one  blade  of 
grass,  one  little  plant.  But  God  has  covered 
the  whole  earth  with  grass  and  plants,  merely 
by  willing  it.  By  a  single  word  He  can,  if 
He  so  wishes,  make  at  once  a  thousand  times 
more  suns,  moons,  stars  and  animals  and 
plants  than  there  are  already,  and  all  without 
any  trouble  or  fatigue. 

You  and  I  can  be  only  in  one  place  at  a 
time;  the  same  is  to  be  said  of  all  things. 
When  we  are  here  in  this  place,  we  cannot  be 
in  our  house  or  in  another  town  or  country. 
But  God  is  everywhere,  in  all  places  all  the 
time;  He  is  in  heaven,  on  earth,  in  every  star, 
in  every  country,  in  every  place  at  the  same 
time ;  He  is  even  in  hell,  not  to  suffer  there,  but 
to  exercise  His  justice  over  the  devils  and  the 
souls  of  the  wicked.  He  is  everywhere  keep- 
ing the  things  He  has  made  in  proper  order; 
He  takes  care  of  us  so  much  so  that  He  has 
numbered  the  hairs  on  our  head,  and  not  one 
of  them  can  or  does  fall  without  His  knowl- 
edge or  permission.  Since  God  is  everywhere, 
we  can  speak  to  Him,  pray  to  Him  wherever 
we  are.  This  should  remind  us  that  we  can 
never  be  all  alone,  for  wherever  we  are,  God  is 
there  with  us ;  He  sees  us,  He  knows  what  we 
are  doing,  whether  we  do  good,  or  do  evil. 


God  Is  Almighty; 


13 


God  knows  all  things.  Although  you  are 
still  young,  you  already  know  many  things ; 
the  older  you  grow,  the  more  you  will  know. 
Those  who  know  much  more  than  other  people 
are  called  learned;  and  no  matter  how  much 
the  most  learned  men  may  know,  there  are 
many  more  things  that  they  do  not  know. 
The  angels  know  much  more  than  the  most 
learned  men;  the  Blessed  Virgin  knows  more 
than  all  the  angels  know.  But  God  alone  knows 
all  things.  He  knows  not  only  all  tfcat  is  past, 
and  all  that  is  now,  but  also  all  that  will  be; 
for  Him  there  is  nothing  past  or  future; 
everything  is  present  to  Him.  He  knows  all 
the  men  now  living,  all  those  that  have  ever 
lived  or  will  ever  live,  and  all  their  thoughts, 
wishes,  words  and  deeds.  He  knows  all  the 
animals,  plants,  grains  of  sand,  drops  of  water 
that  ever  have  been  or  will  ever  be  in  the 
world. 

God  sees  us  all  the  time,  and  knows  not 
only  everything  we  have  ever  done  and  said, 
are  doing  and  saying  now,  or  ever  will  do 
and  say,  but  he  sees  and  knows  our  most 
secret  thoughts  or  wishes.  When  God  the 
Son  became  man  and  lived  on  earth,  He  would 
sometimes  tell  men  of  the  evil  thoughts  they 


14  He  Knows  All  Things. 


had  in  their  minds.  He  sees  every  bad  or 
wicked  thought  or  image  that  comes  into  our 
mind;  whether  we  put  it  away,  drive  it  out 
of  our  mind,  or  let  it  stay.  Let  us  always 
remember  that  God  sees  even  our  most  secret 
thoughts  and  actions.  If  you  knew  that  some 
persons  could  know  all  your  thoughts,  how 
carefully  you  would  watch  over  your  thoughts, 
and  at  once  drive  away  all  bad  and  wicked 
thoughts.  But  God  knows  them  all,  and  will 
surely  reward  your  good  thoughts  and  punish 
your  evil  thoughts. 


III.    GOD  IS  OUR  FATHER ;  HIS  GOOD- 
NESS TOWARDS  US. 


Yesterday,  my  dear  children,  I  explained  to 
you  that  God  is  almighty;  that  He  made  the 
earth,  sun,  moon  and  stars  and  all  that  they 
contain  out  of  nothing,  merely  by  willing 
them;  also  that  He  is  everywhere;  in  every 
place;  that  He  sees  and  knows  all  things; 
that  He  knows  not  only  all  that  has  ever  been 
done  and  is  now  done  everywhere,  but  also 
everything  that  shall  ever  happen.  We  can- 
not hide  ourselves,  or  our  deeds  and  thoughts 
from  God ;  He  sees  and  knows  even  our  most 
secret  thoughts  and  deeds. 

All  things  belong  to  God,  for  He  created 
them  and  they  are  His ;  He  is  their  Lord  and 
Master.  We  also  belong  to  God,  for  He  has 
created  us.  All  that  we  are,  everything  that 
we  have,  comes  from  God. 

Our  body  is  the  gift  of  God;  our  eyes,  our 
sight,  our  hearing,  our  tongue,  every  part  of 
our  body  has  been  given  us  by  God.  It  is 
He  who  gave  us  the  power  to  see,  hear,  smell, 
15 


16 


God  Is  Our  Father; 


taste,  feel,  walk,  speak.  It  is  He  who  has 
given  us  a  good  father  and  a  good  mother 
to  love  us,  to  care  for  us,  to  provide  us  with 
food,  drink,  good  clothes  and  a  comfortable 
place  to  live  in.  When  you  sit  down  to  eat 
your  meals,  you  should  think  that  it  is  God's 
goodness  towards  you  that  enables  your 
parents  to  provide  you  with  food,  and  then 
you  ought  to  recite  the  prayer  all  good  Chris- 
tions  say  before  meals ;  after  making  the  sign 
of  the  cross :  "Bless  us,  O  Lord,  and  these 
Thy  gifts,  which  we  are  to  receive  from  Thy 
bounty,  through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord, 
Amen."  And  after  you  have  finished  your 
meals,  thank  God  for  His  goodness,  and  say: 
"We  give  Thee  thanks,  Almighty  God,  for  all 
Thy  benefits,  who  livest  and  reignest  forever. 
Amen." 

It  is  for  us  that  God  created  this  beautiful 
world,  to  furnish  us  with  so  many  different 
kinds  of  food,  such  as  meat,  fish,  vegetables 
and  fruits;  with  different  kinds  of  stuff  for 
our  clothing;  with  wood,  clay,  stone,  etc.,  to 
give  us  homes  to  live  in;  and  with  so  many 
good  and  beautiful  things  for  our  pleasure  and 
enjoyment. 

God  has  also  made  our  soul,  a  spirit,  almost 


His  Goodness  Towards  Us.  17 


as  grand  and  as  beautiful  as  the  angels  them- 
selves. He  gave  to  our  soul  understanding, 
that  we  may  know  and  learn  things;  a  mem- 
ory to  remember  things,  a  reason  to  know 
what  is  right  and  what  is  wrong,  and  a  free 
will  to  be  able  to  deserve  reward  for  the  good 
we  do,  and  to  deserve  punishment  if  we  do 
wrong  or  evil.  He  gave  each  one  of  us,  when 
we  were  born,  a  guardian  angel  to  be  always 
with  us  during  our  whole  life,  to  watch  over 
us,  to  protect  us,  to  help  us  to  do  what  is  right, 
and  to  avoid  what  is  evil  or  bad.  He  must 
love  us  very  much,  since  He  gives  each  one  of 
us  His  most  beautiful  and  powerful  angels 
from  heaven.  On  earth  there  are  always  guards 
or  watchmen  placed  to  watch  over  and  pro- 
tect the  places  where  there  are  treasures,  that 
is,  plenty  of  money,  or  where  are  kept  very 
precious  things.  So  you  see  how  much  God 
loves  you,  since  He  considers  you  as  a  treas- 
ure of  His,  deserving  of  having  so  great  and 
noble  a  guardian  as  one  of  His  own  angels. 

But  why  did  God  make  us,  why  did  He 
create  us  ?  Does  He  need  us  ?  Can't  He  get 
along  without  us  ?  God  is  perfectly  happy 
in  Himself ;  He  does  not  need  us,  nor  anyone 
else;  but  He   created  us  because  He  is  good 


18 


God  Is  Our  Father; 


and  happy,  and  wishes  others  besides  Himself 
to  share  His  happiness.  That  is  the  reason 
why  He  created  the  angels,  why  He  created 
all  of  us,  that  we  might  be  with  Him  in  heaven 
and  share  His  happiness  there  forever.  God  is 
so  good,  and  so  greatly  loves  us,  that  He  made 
Himself  our  Father;  that  He  wishes  us  to  be 
His  children,  and  that  we  might  enjoy  His 
endless  happiness  with  Him  in  heaven.  There- 
fore He  wishes  us  to  address  Him  in  our 
prayers  with  these  words :  "Our  Father,  who 
art  in  heaven." 

Thus  you  see,  dear  children,  that  God  did 
not  create  you  merely  to  get  rich,  or  to  enjoy 
yourselves  on  earth  during  a  short  life.  He 
created  you  for  heaven,  which  is  millions  and 
millions  of  times  better  than  this  earth ;  there- 
fore He  made  and  calls  Himself  your  Father, 
and  calls  you  His  children.  It  is  a  far  greater 
honor  to  be  the  child  of  God  than  to  be  the 
child  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  or 
of  the  Governor  of  this  State.  And  why? 
But  remember,  children,  that  God  wants  you 
to  deserve  the  honor  and  happiness  of  being 
His  children  and  of  sharing  His  happiness  in 
heaven  forever.  For  this  you  must  live  as 
His  good  children  on  earth.    Good  children 


His  Goodness  Towards  Us.  19 

know  their  father,  and  honor  and  respect  him  ; 
you  must  also  know  God ;  how  can  you  know 
Him  ?  By  learning  the  Catechism  well !  You 
must  honor  God  by  praying  to  Him,  that  is, 
learn  and  recite  your  prayers.  Good  children 
love  their  father;  you  must  therefore  love 
God,  who  is  the  best  of  fathers,  who  loves  you 
so  much  and  has  done  so  much  for  you.  Good 
children  obey  their  father;  you  must,  then, 
also  obey  God,  that  is,  keep  His  command- 
ments. In  a  few  words,  to  be  good  and  worthy 
children  of  God  and  to  deserve  to  be  with  Him 
happy  forever  in  heaven,  you  must  know  God, 
you  must  pray  to  God,  you  must  love  God 
and  you  must  obey  or  serve  God  during  your 
life. 

Heaven  is  so  beautiful,  and  the  pleasures  of 
heaven  are  so  great,  that  there  is  nothing  on 
earth  like  them.  St.  Paul  tells  us  that  the 
eye  of  man  has  never  seen  anything  like  it, 
the  ear  of  man  has  never  heard  such  sweet 
music  as  that  of  heaven,  nor  can  the  mind  of 
man  ever  think  of  pleasures  that  can  be  com- 
pared to  those  that  God  has  prepared  in  heaven 
for  those  who  love  and  obey  Him ! 


IV.  THE  BLESSED  TRINITY. 


When  we  begin,  and  when  we  end  our 
prayers,  my  dear  children,  we  say:  "In  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen."  We  mention  here 
three  names :  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost.  These  are  the  names  of  the 
three  Persons  in  God.  There  is  but  one  God  ; 
but  in  God  there  are  three  Persons.  A  per- 
son is  one  who  thinks  and  acts  of  himself,  as 
he  wills.  Each  one  of  us  here  is  a  person; 
each  angel  is  also  a  person.  Among  men  and 
angels,  three  persons  make  three  different 
men,  three  different  angels.  But  not  so  with 
God.  The  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  are  three  distinct  Persons,  but  are  all 
three  but  one  God.  Why  ?  Because,  although 
the  Father  is  true  God,  the  Son  is  true  God, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  is  true  God,  yet  the  Son 
is  not  a  different  God  from  the  Father  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  nor  is  the  Holy  Ghost  a 
different  God  from  the  Father  and  the  Son; 
20 


The  Blessed  Trinity.  21 


but  they  are  all  three  one,  and  the  very  same 
God.  How  this  is  we  cannot  understand;  it 
is  too  high  and  too  deep  for  us,  and  even  for 
the  angels  themselves. 

St.  Patrick  gave  a  kind  of  explanation  of 
this  greatest  of  mysteries,  when  he  converted 
Ireland  to  the  faith.  He  took  a  shamrock  or 
clover,  which  has  three  leaves,  and  said :  "You 
see  this  shamrock;  although  it  has  three  equal 
leaves,  it  is  only  one  shamrock;  each  leaf  is 
not  a  different  shamrock  from  the  other  two 
leaves,  although  distinct  from  each  of  them, 
and  equal  to  each,  but  all  three  form  but  one 
and  the  same  shamrock.  In  like  manner, 
although  the  Father  is  neither  the  Son,  nor 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  Son  is  neither  the 
Father  nor  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  neither  the  Father  nor  the  Son,  yet 
all  three  are  but  one  and  the  same  God.  The 
Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost  are  the  very  same 
God  as  the  Father.  Therefore  all  the  three 
divine  Persons  are  but  one  and  the  same  God. 
Each  Person  is  eternal,  almighty,  all-wise,  etc. ; 
they  are  all  equal  to  each  other. 

I  will  give  another  explanation  of  the 
Blessed  Trinity.  (Take  three  perfectly  equal 
tapers.)    I  take  these  three  tapers,  hold  them 


22  The  Blessed  Trinity. 


together  in  one  bunch  and  light  them.  You 
see  there  is  only  one  flame  from  the  three 
tapers;  so  also  God,  or  the  Divine  nature,  is 
like  the  flame  which  is  one,  although  com- 
posed of  the  flame  of  three  tapers.  We  call 
one  God  in  three  Persons  the  Blessed  Trinity, 
or  the  mystery  of  the  Blessed  Trinity.  Trinity 
means  three  in  one,  that  is,  Three  Persons 
in  one  God. 

No  man,  no  angel  can  ever  fully  understand 
this  mystery,  for  it  is  as  great  as  God  Him- 
self, and  only  God  can  fully  know  and  under- 
stand Himself.  In  heaven  it  will  take  us  all 
eternity  to  study  and  learn  all  the  grandeur, 
beauty  and  perfections  of  the  Blessed  Trinity. 
The  great  St.  Augustine,  who  lived  1500  years 
ago,  was  writing  a  book  on  the  Blessed  Trinity, 
trying  to  explain  it.  He  read  and  studied  for 
a  long  time.  One  day  he  had  been  thinking 
over  it  in  his  mind,  and  thought  that  now  he 
knew  all  about  it,  and  therefore  was  hurry- 
ing home  to  write  it  all  down.  He  had  been 
walking  along  the  sea-shore.  On  his  way  he  be- 
held a  beautiful  little  boy  pouring  water  from 
the  sea  with  a  shell  into  a  little  hole,  which 
he  had  dug  in  the  sand.  The  hole  was  already 
full  of  water  and  every  shellful  of  water  he 


The  Blessed  Trinity.  23 


poured  into  it  ran  back  into  the  sea.  St. 
Augustine  had  stopped  to  look  at  what  that 
beautiful  boy  was  doing.  "Sonny,"  said  St. 
Augustine  to  him,  "what  are  you  doing  there  ?" 
The  boy  replied :  "I  am  going  to  empty  all  the 
water  of  this  big  sea,  and  put  it  all  into  this 
little  hole/'  "You  cannot  do  that,"  said  St. 
Augustine;  "do  you  not  see  that  the  little 
hole  is  already  full,  and  all  the  water  you  are 
pouring  into  it  runs  back  into  the  sea?"  Then 
the  little  boy,  who  was  an  angel,  stood  up 
and  said :  "Augustine,  it  is  easier  for  me  to 
empty  this  big  sea  and  put  all  the  water  it 
contains  into  this  little  hole,  than  it  is  for  you 
to  grasp  with  your  mind  the  sublime  mystery 
of  the  Blessed  Trinity;  God  is  a  boundless 
ocean,  and  your  mind  is  only  a  tiny  little  hole 
compared  to  that  greatest  of  all  mysteries." 


V.  THE  INCARNATION. 


Do  you  know,  my  dear  children,  that  the 
great  God,  who  made  all  things,  the  world 
we  live  in  and  all  that  it  contains,  who  made 
you  and  me,  and  all  the  men,  women  and 
children  that  have  ever  lived,  that  the  great 
God  once  came  Himself  and  lived  on  earth 
for  thirty-three  years?  I  told  you  the  other 
day  that  we  can't  see  God,  just  as  we  can't 
see  the  air?  Then  how  did  anyone  see  God 
when  He  came  into  this  world?  Men  saw 
Him  then,  because  He  came  on  earth  as  a 
man.  He  came  "dressed  up,"  we  might  say, 
in  a  human  body  and  a  human  soul,  like  ours. 
It  was  God  the  Son,  the  Second  Person  of  the 
Blessed  Trinity,  who  became  man  by  joining 
to  Himself  a  human  body  and  a  human  soul, 
in  such  a  manner,  that  He  is  God  and  man  at 
the  same  time,  and  is  only  one  person.  His 
human  body  and  human  soul  are  joined  to 
Him  as  God  even  more  closely  than  our  body 
is  joined  to  our  soul.  The  Son  of  God,  that 
24 


The  Incarnation. 


23 


is,  God  the  Son,  who  became  man,  is  called 
Jesus  Christ.  Jesus  Christ  is  true  God,  was 
always  true  God,  because  He  is  God  the  Son, 
the  Second  Person  of  the  Blessed  Trinity. 
He  is  true  man,  because  He  has  a  body  and  a 
soul  like  ours;  but  He  was  not  always  man, 
but  only  since  He  took  a  body  and  soul  like 
ours,  at  the  moment  of  His  Incarnation,  when 
the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  who  was  the  purest 
and  holiest  of  creatures  that  ever  lived  or  will 
ever  live,  became  His  Mother.  Jesus  Christ, 
as  man,  was  born  on  the  first  Christmas  day, 
1,913  years  ago,  in  a  small  town  called  Bethle- 
hem, in  the  Jewish  country.  In  memory  of 
the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ  on  Christmas  day, 
we  all  keep  Christmas  as  a  great  feast  of 
joy  and  happiness,  especially  for  children.  It 
was,  indeed,  so  wonderful  a  thing  that  the 
Son  of  God  should  come  on  earth  and  be 
born  as  a  little  child.  I  will  explain  to  you, 
the  next  time,  why  the  Son  of  God  became 
man  and  lived  on  earth. 

The  Child  Jesus  grew  up  like  other  children, 
but  so  good  and  so  holy !  When  He  grew 
up  to  be  thirty  years  old,  He  went  about  the 
country,  preaching  and  teaching  men  what 
they  must  know  and  do  to  save  their  souls, 


26  The  Incarnation. 


that  is,  to  go  to  heaven.  He  claimed  to  be 
the  Son  of  God  with  the  right  to  teach  men. 
To  prove  that  He  was  God,  the  Son  of  God, 
He  performed  miracles.  A  miracle  is  some- 
thing which  no  man,  but  only  God  can  do, 
or  those  to  whom  He  gives  the  special  power. 
For  instance,  to  give  sight  to  a  blind  man  with- 
out remedies,  but  only  by  a  word  or  a  sim- 
ple touch;  to  give  hearing  to  the  deaf;  to 
give  back  life  to  a  person  who  is  dead.  No 
man  can  do  these  things.  Now,  Jesus  Christ 
went  about  curing  by  a  single  word  persons 
who  had  been  sick  for  years  and  given  up 
by  the  doctors;  He  gave  sight  to  the  blind, 
hearing  and  speech  to  the  deaf  and  dumb, 
stopped  suddenly  a  terrible  storm  at  sea  by 
saying:  "Peace,  be  still."  He  fed  5,000  hungry 
men,  with  only  five  loaves  of  bread ;  they  all  ate 
as  much  as  they  wanted,  and  after  this,  the 
pieces  of  bread  that  were  left,  filled  twelve  large 
baskets,  equaling  over  one  hundred  loaves  !  He 
raised  to  life  a  young  man  during  his  funeral ; 
He  raised  to  life  a  twelve-year-old  girl,  by 
taking  her  corpse  by  the  hand  and  saying: 
"Arise,  little  girl."  He  raised  to  life  Lazarus, 
whose  body  was  already  four  days  in  the  grave 
and  was  beginning  to  get  rotten  and  decom- 


The  Incarnation. 


27 


posed !  And  as  you  shall  hear  the  next  time, 
He  raised  Himself  to  life  again  the  third  day 
after  He  had  died  a  fearful  death  on  the  cross. 

Jesus  Christ  wanted  men  to  know  that  He 
was  God  as  well  as  man,  and  that  men  are 
obliged  to  believe  all  that  He  preached  and 
taught,  and  to  do  all  that  He  commanded 
them  to  do,  in  order  to  lead  a  good  life  and 
reach  heaven  after  their  death,  and  to  avoid 
all  that  He  forbids  them,  all  the  evil  things 
which  would  bring  them  to  the  endless  tor- 
ments of  hell. 


VI.    THE  REDEMPTION. 


I  will  tell  you  to-day  why  the  Son  of  God 
came  on  earth  and  became  man.  In  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world  God  created  our  first 
parents,  Adam  and  Eve,  the  first  man  and  the 
first  woman.  He  gave  them  a  visible  body 
and  an  invisible  soul,  an  immortal  soul.  God 
wished  that  they  and  their  children  and  grand- 
children should  live  happy  on  earth  for  a  long 
time,  and  then  He  would  take  them  to  heaven 
where  they  would  share  His  happiness  for- 
ever. That  they  might  be  fit  for  heaven,  He 
made  their  souls  holy  and  most  beautiful  with 
sanctifying  grace.  Sanctifying  grace  is  a 
gift  of  God  that  makes  our  soul  holy,  most 
beautiful,  most  pleasing  to  God,  a  worthy  child 
of  God  and  gives  our  soul  the  right  to  enter 
heaven  after  our  death.  It  is  like  a  bright 
white  dress  which  makes  the  soul  perfectly 
pure  and  holy,  brighter  than  the  sun,  and  far 
more  beautiful  than  anything  in  this  world, 
so  that  if  we  could  see  a  soul  which  has  sanc- 
28 


The  Redemption. 


29 


tifying  grace,  it  would  make  us  almost  die  of 

joy  and  happiness. 

God  made  man  for  heaven,  but  He  wanted 
man  to  deserve  it  by  being  obedient  to  God. 
He  therefore  placed  Adam  and  Eve  in  a  most 
pleasant  garden,  like  a  paradise,  or  a  heaven 
on  earth,  full  of  the  finest  fruit  trees.  He 
said  to  them :  "You  can  eat  of  the  fruits  of 
all  the  trees  here,  but  not  of  this  one  in  the 
middle  of  the  garden ;  you  shall  not  eat  of  the 
fruits  of  that  tree;  if  you  do,  you  shall  die!" 
For  some  time  Adam  and  Eve  obeyed  God. 
But  one  day  Eve  was  near  that  forbidden  tree, 
and  Satan,  the  head-devil,  who  had  hidden 
himself  in  a  snake  that  was  near  that  tree, 
asked  Eve:  "Why  do  you  not  eat  of  the 
fruits  of  this  tree?  they  taste  so  good."  Eve 
said :  "God  forbade  us  to  eat  of  the  fruits  of 
that  tree,  lest  we  should  die."  "Oh !  no,"  said 
Satan,  "you  won't  die,  but  you  will  become 
as  smart  as  God,  for  if  you  eat  of  these  fruits, 
you  will  know  the  difference  between  good  and 
evil."  Eve,  who  was  very  curious,  tried  it; 
she  ate  some  of  the  fruits;  they  tasted  nice, 
and  she  gave  some  to  Adam,  and,  to  please 
her,  he  ate  some  also. 

Now,  what  happened  in  the  souls  of  Adam 


30  The  Redemption. 


and  Eve?  Have  you  ever  seen  a  house  that 
was  burnt  down  by  a  big  fire?  It  is  all  in 
ruins;  everything  nice  about  it  is  destroyed, 
and  what  is  left  is  all  black  and  worthless ! 
So  it  was  in  the  souls  of  Adam  and  Eve  after 
their  disobedience.  Their  souls  were  like  the 
ruins  of  a  burnt  house.  Sanctifying  grace 
was  gone;  all  beauty  was  gone;  their  souls 
had  become  fearfully  ugly  and  disgusting,  just 
like  the  devil  himself ;  they  were  no  longer  the 
children  of  God;  they  were  hateful  to  Him, 
and  they  no  longer  had  any  right  to  heaven, 
but  they  were  to  die  and  to  be  cast  into  hell 
forever !  And  they  were  also  expelled  from 
the  garden  of  paradise,  to  go  out  into  the 
world  and  earn  their  living  by  hard  labor. 
The  sin  of  Adam  and  its  consequences  have 
been  shared  by  everyone  born  upon  earth,  ex- 
cept by  the  Blessed  Virgin.  We  were  all  born 
in  sin,  with  our  souls  hateful  to  God,  and 
never  should  we  have  the  chance  of  going  to 
heaven,  which  that  sin,  called  original,  closed 
to  all  mankind,  unless  the  Son  of  God  Him- 
self had  come  on  earth,  become  man,  and  by 
His  sufferings  and  death  done  penance  for 
Adam's  sin  and  all  the  horrible  sins  men  have 
committed  since  the  beginning  of  the  world, 


The  Redemption.  31 


and  again  opened  heaven  to  mankind,  and 
enabled  those  who  obey  God  and  keep  His 
commandments  to  go  to  heaven  after  their 
death. 

Last  time  you  heard  how  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,,  came  on  earth,  was  born  as  a  child 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  Jesus  Christ  is 
true  God,  because  He  is  God  the  Son,  the 
Second  Person  of  the  Blessed  Trinity;  He  is 
true  man,  because  He  was  born  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  and  has  a  body  and  soul  like 
ours.  He  is  called  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Lord  means  master,  because,  as  God,  He  made 
all  things.  Jesus  means  Saviour,  because  He 
saved  us  from  sin  and  hell,  made  us  children 
of  God  and  opened  heaven  to  us,  by  dying  for 
us  on  a  cross.  The  name  of  Jesus  is  the 
holiest  of  names,  and  should  always  be  pro- 
nounced with  the  greatest  respect.  What  a 
horrible  thing  it  is,  then,  for  anyone  to  use  the 
name  of  Jesus  in  cursing,  or  in  anger !  If  you 
hear  some  one  doing  so,  or  profaning  the  name 
of  God,  etc.,  say  a  little  prayer  to  honor 
Jesus.  God,  etc. 

You  see  this  crucifix!  It  represents  Jesus 
Christ  dying  on  the  cross  to  save  us  from  sin 
and  hell,  to  make  us  children  of  God  and  open 


32  The  Redemption. 


heaven  to  us.  Jesus  Christ  was  put  to  death 
on  the  cross  by  wicked  men  among  the  Jews. 
He  knew  they  were  going  to  put  Him  to  death, 
and  He  could  have  prevented  them,  if  He  had 
wished;  but  He  suffered  them  to  arrest  and 
bind  Him,  to  scourge  Him  unmercifully,  to 
crown  Him  with  thorns,  to  nail  His  hands  and 
feet  to  the  cross,  to  pierce  His  heart  with  a 
spear.  For  three  hours  He  hung  on  the 
cross  in  terrible  pains  and  died  praying  for 
His  murderers,  and  for  us  and  all  men,  for 
wThose  sins  He  died,  because  He  so  greatly 
loved  us  and  all  mankind  in  spite  of  our  wick- 
edness. The  day  He  died  on  is  called  Good 
Friday,  for  it  was  for  our  good,  our  benefit 
that  He  died.  On  the  third  day  after,  count- 
ing Friday  itself  as  one  day,  that  is,  on  Easter 
Sunday,  He  raised  Himself  to  life  again  by 
His  own  power,  thus  proving  Himself  God. 
Forty  days  later  Jesus  Christ  went  up  to 
heaven,  taking  along  the  souls  of  all  the  holy 
people  that  had  died  until  then;  He  opened 
heaven  for  them  and  there  He  now  prepares 
a  place  for  everyone  that  believes  in  Him  and 
keeps  His  commandments. 

When  we  die,  our  body  and  soul  separate  ; 
our  body  is  laid  in  the  grave,  soon  rots  and 


The  Redemption. 


33 


after  some  years  everything  of  it  is  gone,  ex- 
cept a  handful  of  dust.  But  our  soul  will  be 
judged  by  God  concerning  all  our  thoughts, 
words  and  deeds  of  our  whole  life ;  if  we  have 
sanctifying  grace  in  our  soul,  we  shall  go  to 
heaven  either  drectly,  or  after  some  time;  we 
shall  go  directly,  if  our  soul  is  perfectly  pure 
without  the  smallest  stain  of  sin,  we  shall  then 
go  straight  to  heaven  to  share  forever  God's 
own  happiness,  as  a  reward  for  having  been 
good  during  life.  But  if  our  soul  has  some 
little  stains  of  sins,  our  soul  will  first  have  to 
do  penance  for  them  in  purgatory  by  undergo- 
ing some  suffering  for  a  time,  and  after  this,  our 
soul  will  be  admitted  into  heaven  as  a  reward 
for  all  the  good  we  did  during  life.  But  if  our 
soul  is  covered  with  the  filth  or  dirt  of  mortal 
sin,  our  soul  will  be  sent  to  hell  to  suffer  ter- 
rible punishments,  such  as  fire,  forever  and 
ever !  God  is  most  just ;  He  rewards  after 
death  the  good  forever  and  ever  in  heaven,  and 
punishes  after  death  the  wicked  forever  and 
ever  in  hell. 

If  we  wish  to  go  to  heaven,  we  must  keep 
from  sin  during  our  life.  Now  what  is  a  sin  ? 
Sin  is  disobedience  of  a  commandment  of  God. 
When  we  disobey  God,  we  commit  a  sin. 


34  The  Redemption. 


There  are  two  kinds  of  sin,  original  sin  and 
actual  sin.  Original  sin  is  the  sin  of  our  first 
parents,  which  stained  our  soul  when  we  were 
born.  Jesus  Christ  died  to  save  us  from  sin. 
Baptism  was  appointed  by  Jesus  Christ  to  take 
away  original  sin.  When  we  were  baptized, 
our  soul  was  washed  and  cleansed  from  orig- 
inal sin,  received  sanctifying  grace,  which 
made  our  soul  pure,  holy,  beautiful,  pleasing 
to  God,  and  a  child  of  God  with  the  right  to  go 
to  heaven.  The  other  kind  of  sin  is  actual  sin, 
that  is  the  sin  we  commit  ourselves.  If  the 
sin  we  commit  is  big  or  great,  our  sin  is  mor- 
tal, or  deadly;  if  it  is  only  a  trifle,  our  sin  is 
venial,  or  light.  Mortal  sin  is  called  mortal, 
or  deadly,  or  grievous,  because  he  who  com- 
mits it  loses  sanctifying  grace,  and  the  sin  he 
commits  makes  his  soul  horribly  filthy  and 
disgusting  and  hateful  to  God,  and  robs  it 
of  the  title  of  child  of  God  and  of  all  right  to 
heaven;  and  it  also  makes  the  soul  deserving 
of  hell,  so  that  if  he  who  has  committed  mor- 
tal sin,  dies  before  repenting  of  it  and  re- 
ceiving forgiveness,  he  will  be  condemned  to 
suffer  the  torments  and  fire  of  hell  forever, 
and  never  have  the  hope  of  forgiveness  or  of 
ever  going  to  heaven!    For  instance,  those 


The  Redemption.  35 

children  who  greatly  disrespect,  curse  or 
strike  their  parents  in  anger,  who  steal  a  large 
sum  of  money,  who  greatly  injure  or  kill  their 
neighbor,  who  wilfully  think  of,  say  or  do  im- 
pure things,  who  miss  Mass  on  Sundays  or 
eat  meat  on  a  Friday  through  their  own  fault, 
all  commit  mortal  sin  each  time;  and  deserve 
to  be  condemned  to  hell,  if  they  die  without 
repenting  of  their  sin,  without  obtaining  par- 
don for  their  sin.  The  usual  way  to  get  our 
sins,  especially  our  mortal  sins,  forgiven,  is  to 
make  a  good  sincere  confession  to  a  priest, 
with  true  sorrow  for  them,  and  the  priest  will, 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  and  by  the  power  given 
him  by  Jesus  Christ,  forgive  you  your  sins, 
and  thus  free  you  from  the  punishments  of 
hell,  and  will  restore  to  your  soul  sanctifying 
grace,  her  wonderful  purity  and  beauty,  and 
the  right  to  be  a  child  of  God  and  go  to  heaven 
after  death.  In  this  manner,  the  sufferings 
and  death  of  Jesus  on  the  cross  will  save  you 
from  sin  and  hell. 

Venial  sin  is  committed,  for  instance,  by 
children  wrho  sometimes  neglect  their  prayers, 
or  say  them  without  attention,  who  are  a  lit- 
tle disobedient,  a  little  angry,  who  tell  some 
little  lie.    You  can  obtain  forgiveness  of  those 


36 


The  Redemption. 


sins  by  confessing  them  to  a  priest,  or  by  mak- 
ing an  act  of  contrition,  or  saying  some 
prayers.  If  when  you  die,  your  soul  is  still 
stained  with  some  unforgiven  venial  sins, 
your  soul  will  have  to  do  penance  for  them  in 
purgatory  before  God  will  admit  you  into 
heaven.  Try,  dear  children,  to  avoid  the 
smallest  sin,  for  it  displeases  God;  and  you 
should  not  commit  the  smallest  venial  sin  even 
to  escape  death,  for  venial  sin  is  a  greater  evil 
than  death.  If  you  are  careless  in  avoiding 
venial  sin,  you  run  the  risk  of  committing 
mortal  sin  and  losing  your  soul.  If,  how- 
ever, you  carefully  avoid  all  venial  sins,  you 
will  be  able  very  easily  to  keep  out  of  mortal 
sin  altogether. 

N.  B. — The  following  should  be  repeated, 
in  whole  or  in  part,  as  often  as  may  be  neces- 
sary to  impress  the  truths  indelibly  in  the 
minds  of  the  children. 


VII.    THE  BLESSED  EUCHARIST. 


Do  you  know  why  your  body  needs  food? 
Could  you  live  without  eating?  No,  for  you 
would  soon  die.  You  need  food  every  day 
and  several  times  a  day,  in  order  to  live,  to 
grow  larger  and  stronger.  What  becomes  of 
the  food  you  eat?  It  goes  into  your  stomach, 
and  the  stomach  changes  it  into  your  flesh  and 
blood,  into  all  parts  of  your  body. 

But  let  us  not  forget,  dear  children,  that 
our  soul  also  needs  food.  But  our  soul  is  a 
spirit,  and  the  food  of  the  soul  cannot  be  ma- 
terial like  the  food  of  our  body.  Our  soul  is 
created  for  heaven,  and  therefore  needs 
heavenly  food. 

Our  divine  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  has  pre- 
pared a  heavenly  food,  a  heavenly  Bread  for 
our  soul,  which  will  preserve  the  spiritual  life 
of  our  soul,  or  sanctifying  grace,  increase 
the  strength  of  our  soul,  and  make  our  soul 
grow  in  holiness  and  become  worthy  of  greater 
reward  in  heaven.  Do  you  know  which  is 
this  heavenly  food?  It  is  Jesus  Christ,  our 
divine  Saviour  Himself! 

37 


38  The  Blessed  Eucharist. 


He  said  one  day:  "I  am  the  living  Bread 
come  down  from  heaven;  he  that  will  eat  of 
this  Bread,  shall  live  forever.  The  Bread 
which  I  will  give  you  is  My  flesh  (body)  for 
the  life  of  the  world,  for  My  flesh  (body)  is 
food  indeed,  and  My  blood  is  drink  indeed. 
If  you  do  not  eat  the  flesh  (body)  of  the  Son 
of  man  (that  is,  of  Jesus  Himself)  and  drink 
His  blood,  you  shall  not  have  (heavenly)  life 
in  you.  He  who  eats  My  flesh  and  drinks 
My  blood,  (dwells  in  Me,  and  I  dwell  in  him." 

On  that  day  Jesus  promised  that  He  would 
give,  for  the  souls  of  men,  a  heavenly  Bread, 
which  would  make  men  fit  to  live  holily  on 
earth,  and,  after  this  life,  to  live  forever  hap- 
py in  heaven.  He  said:  "My  flesh  (body) 
is  truly  that  heavenly  Bread;  and  he  who 
wishes  to  go  and  live  forever  happy  in  heaven, 
will  have  to  eat  My  flesh  (body)  as  a  heaven- 
ly Bread ;  if  he  does  not,  he  shall  not  live  for- 
ever in  heaven."  Of  course,  dear  children, 
Jesus  Christ  did  not  mean  that  His  body 
would  be  cut  up  into  pieces  and  eaten  like 
meat  for  the  body.  He  meant  that  He  would 
give  it  to  us  to  be  eaten  as  the  heavenly  Bread 
of  our  souls. 

One  year  later  Jesus  kept  His  promise. 


The  Blessed  Eucharist.  39 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  the  day  before  He 
was  crucified  and  died  for  the  salvation  of  all 
men.  At  the  supper  that  evening,  which  is 
called  the  Last  Supper,  Jesus  took  bread, 
which  at  that  time  was  made  very  thin,  like 
crackers ;  He  raised  His  eyes  towards  heaven, 
blessed  it  and  gave  it  to  His  apostles,  saying: 
'Take  ye  and  eat,  for  this  IS  My  body,  which 
is  given  for  you!'  Now,  dear  children,  what 
did  Jesus  Christ  give  to  eat  to  His  apostles? 
Was  it  bread  ?  No,  because  He  said  to  them : 
'This  IS  My  body."  If  it  had  been  bread, 
as  it  seemed  to  be,  Jesus  Christ  could  not 
and  would  not  have  said :  'This  IS  My  body." 
He  is  God ;  He  knows  all  things ;  He  is  Truth 
itself ;  He  could  not  make  a  mistake ;  He  could 
not  tell  a  lie.  Therefore,  what  He  said  was 
perfectly  true,  for,  as  He  said,  He  gave  His 
apostles  His  true  body  to  eat;  the  same  body, 
which  He  gave  on  the  following  day  to  die  on 
the  cross  for  the  salvation  of  mankind,  for 
He  said  of  it:  "Which  is  given  for  you." 
Although  it  looked  like  bread,  tasted  like 
bread,  and  appeared  to  be  only  bread,  yet  it 
was  not  bread  at  all,  but  truly  the  very  body 
of  Jesus  Himself. 

But    how    could    this    be?    Our  divine 


40  The  Blessed  Eucharist. 

Saviour  is  almighty;  if  our  stomach  can 
change  our  bodily  food  into  our  own  body, 
who  will  dare  to  say:  "Jesus,  who  is  al- 
mighty, who  has  created  the  world  out  of 
nothing  by  a  mere  word,  cannot,  by  His 
word,  change  a  piece  of  bread  into  His  own 
body !"  No  man  in  his  senses  would  dare  to 
say  such  an  untruth.  What  Jesus  Christ  gave 
to  His  apostles  to  eat,  He  did  not  call  bread, 
but  He  called  it:  "My  body;"  He  called  it, 
then,  His  own  body,  the  same  body  which  He 
gave  up  the  next  day  to  die  on  the  cross  for 
our  salvation. 

Jesus  next  took  the  chalice  (cup)  contain- 
ing wine,  and  after  blessing  it,  gave  it  to  His 
apostles,  saying:  "Take  ye  and  drink  this, 
for  it  IS  My  blood,  which  shall  be  shed  for 
the  forgiveness  of  men's  sins"  What  He 
gave  to  His  apostles  to  drink  was  not  wine, 
but  His  very  blood,  the  same  blood  that  He 
shed  the  next  day  on  the  cross  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  the  sins  of  men. 

But  this  was  not  yet  all  that  Jesus  did  at  the 
Last  Supper.  He  also  ordained  His  apostles 
priests,  and  gave  them  the  power  to  do  the 
very  same  thing  which  He  had  done  (was 
doing),  that  is,  to  change  bread  into  His  body 


The  Blessed  Eucharist.  41 


and  wine  into  His  blood,  and  give  to  others 
His  body  to  eat  and  His  blood  to  drink,  as  He 
had  done  to  them,  and  to  ordain  other  priests 
to  do  the  same,  as  He  ordained  them  priests. 

(Before  going  up  to  heaven,  Jesus  gave 
His  apostles,  the  power  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
to  work  miracles  as  He  had  done,  such  as  cur- 
ing the  sick,  giving  sight  to  the  blind,  hearing 
to  the  deaf,  raising  the  dead  to  life.  And,  in 
fact,  the  apostles  went  all  over  the  world  and 
did  as  Jesus  Christ  had  done  and  had  told  and 
empowered  them  to  do.  They  preached  the 
Gospel,  performed  miracles,  changed  bread 
and  wine  into  the  body  and  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  gave  holy  Communion  to  all  who 
joined  the  Church,  and  also  ordained  priests, 
etc.,  as  Jesus  had  ordained  them,  with  the 
power  of  continuing  their  work  among  man- 
kind.) 

All  priests  receive,  when  they  are  ordained, 
the  power  to  change  bread  and  wine  into  the 
body  and  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  do 
this  when  they  say  Mass.  About  the  middle 
of  the  Mass,  when  everybody  in  church  kneels 
down  and  everything  is  silent  in  it,  and  the 
altar-boy  goes  up  and  kneels  right  behind  the 
priest  for  the  Consecration  and  Elevation,  it  is 


42  The  Blessed  Eucharist. 


then  that  the  priest  acts  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  Himself  and  consecrates,  that  is, 
changes  first  the  bread  into  the  body  of  Jesus 
Christ,  saying  as  Jesus  did:  'This  is  My 
(Christ's)  body."  He  then  kneels  down  and 
adores  the  body  of  Jesus,  which,  he  is  hold- 
ing in  his  hands,  and  next  raises  it  up,  that  all 
may  see  it  and  adore  it;  during  that  time  the 
altar-boy  rings  the  bell  three  times.  After 
this  the  priest  consecrates  (changes)  the  wine 
in  the  chalice  into  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ, 
saying  as  Jesus  did:  'This  is  My  (Christ's) 
blood,  which  shall  be  shed  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  men's  sins."  Then  he  kneels  down 
and  adores  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  next  raises 
the  chalice,  so  that  all  may  see  it  and  adore  the 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ  in  it;  and  during  this 
time  the  altar-boy  again  rings  the  bell  three 
times.  Some  time  after  this,  those  who  are 
going  to  holy  Communion,  go  to  the  com- 
munion-rail; and  the  priest,  after  giving  holy 
Communion  to  himself,  gives  each  of  them  a 
small,  thin,  round,  white  particle,  placing  it  on 
their  tongues,  whilst  he  says :  "May  the  body 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  preserve  thy  soul 
unto  life  everlasting.  Amen." 

What  is  it  that  the  priest  places   on  the 


The  Blessed  Eucharist.  43 


tongue  of  each  ?  That  small,  thin,  round,  white 
particle  is  called  the  Sacred  Host,  and  is  real- 
ly and  indeed  the  true  body  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  word  host  means  victim,  for  Jesus  died 
on  the  cross  as  Victim  for  the  sins  of  men, 
and  He  renews  this  offering  of  Himself,  as 
the  Victim  for  our  sins,  in  each  of  the  Masses 
that  are  said,  for  He  wished  His  priests  to 
"do  this,"  He  said,  "in  remembrance  of  Me," 
so  that  holy  Mass  is  a  remembrance  and  a  re- 
newal of  the  death  of  Jesus  on  the  cross  for 
the  salvation  of  mankind. 

The  Sacred  Host  has  all  the  appearance 
of  bread:  its  taste,  form,  color,  etc.,  is  the 
taste,  form,  color,  etc.,  of  bread.  But  it  is  not 
bread,  but  it  is  actually  the  true  body  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  But  His  body  is  not 
a  lifeless,  dead  body,  but  a  living  body,  and 
therefore,  His  blood  and  His  soul  are  in  it,  for 
without  either  of  them  a  body  would  not  be  a 
living  body.  Therefore  the  little  Host  is  ac- 
tually Jesus  Christ  as  man  with  His  body, 
blood  and  soul.  But  Jesus  is  not  a  mere  man, 
but  He  is  also  God,  being  God  the  Son.  He 
is  both  God  and  man,  but  only  one  Person; 
His  body  cannot  be  separated  from  His  di- 
vinity ;  so  that  where  His  body  is,  there  also  is 


44  The  Blessed  Eucharist. 


His  divinity.  Therefore,  the  little  Host  is 
Jesus  Christ  both  as  man  and  as  God.  It  is 
the  same  Jesus  Christ  who  is  true  God  from 
all  eternity;  who  was  born  a  poor  Infant  in 
the  stable  of  Bethlehem,  preached  the  Gospel, 
performed  miracles,  was  arrested,  scourged, 
crowned  with  thorns,  crucified  and  died  on 
the  cross,  rose  from  the  dead,  ascended  into 
heaven,  is  adored  there  by  all  the  angels  and 
saints,  and  will  come  again  on  earth  at  the 
last  day,  with  power  and  majesty,  to  judge  all 
men,  to  reward  the  good  forever  in  heaven 
and  to  punish  the  wicked  forever  in  hell. 

Holy  Communion  is  the  receiving,  or  eat- 
ing, of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  under  the 
appearances  of  bread.  As  our  food  becomes 
one  with  us,  so  when  we  receive  the  body  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  holy  Communion,  our  soul  is 
united  to  Jesus  Christ,  becomes,  in  some  man- 
ner, one  with  Him.  Why  does  Jesus  give  us 
His  body  in  holy  Communion?  Because  He 
loves  us.  His  love  for  us  is  so  great  that  it 
caused  Him  to  come  from  Heaven  upon  the 
earth  and  become  man,  and  suffer  and  die  a 
cruel  and  shameful  death  to  save  us  from  sin 
and  hell,  and  to  enable  us  to  go  to  heaven  and 
be  forever  happy.    "Greater  love    no  man 


The  Blessed  Eucharist.  45 


hath,"  says  Jesus,  "than  to  lay  down  his  life 
(die)  for  his  f rends."  But  Jesus  Christ  died 
for  us,  although  we  were  His  enemies  on  ac- 
count of  our  sins ;  He  died  for  us,  taking  upon 
Himself  the  punishment  we  deserved  for  our 
sins.  But  His  love  for  us  is  so  great,  that 
it  was  not  enough  for  Him  to  die  for  us,  but 
it  induces  Him  to  give  us  Himself  as  the  food 
of  our  souls,  in  order  to  make  us  godlike,  and 
fit  to  share  forever  His  own  happiness  in 
heaven.  His  love  for  us  can  go  no  further, 
Although  He  is  almighty,  He  cannot  give  us 
a  greater  gift  than  Himself,  than  His  own 
body  and  blood !  He  is  infinitely  greater  than 
the  whole  universe.  He  gives  us  His  own 
body  and  blood  as  a  pledge  of  the  everlasting 
happiness  which  He  has  prepared  for  us  in 
heaven.  He  loves  us  so  much  that  He  de- 
sires that  His  body  and  blood  should  be  the 
daily  food  of  our  soul,  that  we  should  daily 
receive  Him  in  holy  Communion,  so  that  we 
may  become  always  more  and  more  holy,  and 
more  fit  to  enjoy  greater  happiness  in  heaven. 
"Taste,  and  see  how  sweet  the  Lord  is"  (Ps. 
33,  9). 

In  our  churches  some  Hosts  are  always  kept 
in  the  tabernacle,  that  part  of  the  altar  in  the 


46  The  Blessed  Eucharist. 


center,  which  has  a  little  door.  Therefore, 
our  divine  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  true 
God  and  true  man  in  one  Person,  is  really  and 
truly  present  in  the  tabernacle  in  each  Sacred 
Host.  That's  why  we  bend  our  right  knee  to  the 
ground  when  we  come  into  the  church,  and 
again  before  going  out.  We  do  that  to  adore 
our  Lord  and  God,  who  is  truly  present  in 
the  tabernacle.  That's  also  why  we  must  al- 
ways be  respectful  and  reverent  in  church,  be- 
cause our  Lord  Himself  is  there.  That's  why 
the  church  doors  are  always  open  during  the 
day,  so  that  everybody  may  come  in  to  honor 
our  Lord  and  pray  to  Him  at  any  time.  He 
keeps  what  we  may  call  "open  house,"  to  re- 
ceive our  visits  whenever  we  wish  to  come. 
That's  why,  too,  every  Catholic  boy  and  man, 
properly  instructed,  always  lift  up  their  hats 
when  they  pass  a  church,  in  order  to  show 
their  faith  and  their  respect  for  Jesus  in  the 
tabernacle,  wherein  He  resides.  And  that's 
why  there  is  always  the  light  in  the  sanctuary 
lamp  burning  night  and  day,  to  indicate  the 
real  presence  in  the  tabernacle  of  Jesus,  who, 
when  visibly  present  on  earth,  said  of  Him- 
self:  "I  am  the  light  of  the  world"  (John 
8:12). 


VIII.    PREPARATION  FOR  HOLY 
COMMUNION. 


If  some  great  person,  such  as  the  Bishop  or 
the  President,  were  coming  soon  to  your  home 
to  pay  you  a  visit,  my  dear  children,  you  would 
feel  happy  merely  to  think  on  it,  and  would  at 
once  set  to  work  to  put  everything  in  order, 
that  you  might  be  able  to  give  him  a  proper 
reception.  The  house  would  have  to  be  well 
cleaned,  and  yourselves  be  well  washed  and 
combed,  and  have  on  you  your  best  clothes. 
Would  you  not?  You  would  surely  not  wish 
to  have  your  house  all  dirty  and  in  disorder, 
your  clothes  dirty  and  torn,  your  hands  and 
face  all  soiled  ?  But  when  you  go  to  holy  Com- 
munion, Jesus  Christ  Himself,  your  God  and 
your  Redeemer,  comes  not  only  to  pay  you  a 
visit,  but  to  dwell  in  your  soul,  in  your  heart 
and  to  load  you  with  His  favors.  How 
should  you  receive  Him? 

In  the  first  place,  your  soul,  in  which  He 
comes  to  dwell,  must  be  clean,  as  clean  and  as 
spotless  as  possible.  What  is  it  that  soils,  de- 
47 


48 


Preparation  for 


files  your  soul?  Sin,  sin  alone,  but  most  es- 
pecially mortal  sin.  If  there  is  no  mortal  sin  in 
your  soul,  Jesus  Christ,  the  Bread  from  heaven, 
will  come  into  your  soul  to  make  it  live,  to 
make  it  most  wonderfully  beautiful,  most  pure, 
holy  and  strong,  and  fit  to  go  to  heaven.  But 
if  there  is  a  mortal  sin,  which  you  know,  in 
your  soul,  when  you  receive  that  heavenly 
Bread,  it  will  be  worse  than  poison  for  your 
soul,  for  you  will  then  eat  your  own  judgment, 
that  is,  your  own  condemnation  to  hell !  There 
was  once  a  boy  who  had  committed  several 
mortal  sins,  and  went  to  holy  Communion  with- 
out confessing  them  to  the  priest,  without  sor- 
row for  them.  He  had  scarcely  received  the 
Sacred  Host  and  gone  back  to  his  place  in 
church,  when  he  fell  down  in  a  faint.  They 
took  him  out  of  the  church  to  a  near  house ;  the 
priest  came  in  to  see  him ;  but  the  boy  was  dy- 
ing, crying  out:  "I  committed  some  mortal 
sins,  and  without  going  to  confession  I  re- 
ceived holy  Communion,  and  the  devil  has  hold 
of  me  and  is  taking  me  to  hell."  Saying  this,  he 
died,  and  his  dead  body  was  awful  to  behold ! 
A  young  girl  had  also  committed  some  mortal 
sins,  and  did  not  tell  them  to  the  priest  in  con- 
fession, for  she  was  ashamed ;  she  went  thus  to 


Holy  Communion. 


49 


holy  Communion  with  her  soul  defiled  by  those 
mortal  sins.  A  few  days  after  she  took  so 
sick  that  not  only  the  doctor,  but  the  priest 
also  was  sent  for  to  prepare  her  for  death. 
When  she  saw  the  priest,  she  cried  out:  "I 
am  damned,  for  I  received  holy  Communion 
unworthily,  because  I  made  a  bad  confession 
by  concealing  some  mortal  sin  through  shame ; 
and  now  the  devil  is  taking  my  soul  to  hell  l" 
And  thus  she  died. 

How  different  was  little  Imelda,  who  was  so 
good,  so  pure,  like  an  angel.  Oh,  how  she 
longed  to  go  to  holy  Communion;  but  every- 
body said  she  was  too  young,  and  even  the 
priest  and  the  Sisters  would  not  let  her  go  to 
holy  Communion.  One  day  when  the  priest 
was  giving  holy  Communion  to  the  Sisters, 
Imelda  longed  so  much  to  receive  also  holy 
Communion ;  and  so  she  prayed  Jesus  so  fer- 
vently and  so  earnestly  for  holy  Communion, 
that  Jesus  granted  her  wish.  And  how  was  this 
done  ?  The  Host  the  priest  was  then  holding 
in  his  hand  escaped  from  it,  and  flew  towards 
the  ceiling  and  continued  then  to  fly  in  the  air 
until  it  came  and  stayed  in  the  air  just  a  little 
above  Imelda's  head.  The  priest  understood 
from  this,  that  Jesus   Himself  wished  that 


50 


Preparation  for 


Imelda  should  have  her  wish  fulfilled  and  re- 
ceive holy  Communion.  So  he  went  to  her  and 
took  the  Host  above  her  head,  and  laid  it  on 
her  tongue.  Oh,  how  happy  did  Imelda  feel ! 
Her  heart  was  full  of  joy  at  receiving  her 
Jesus,  whom  she  loved  so  much,  for  whom  she 
so  ardently  longed,  that  she  died  of  joy  and 
happiness;  her  soul  left  her  body  and  went 
straight  to  heaven  to  be  always  with  Jesus  and 
near  Jesus ! 

Now,  my  dear  children,  before  making  your 
first  holy  Communion,  you  should  go  to  confes- 
sion, in  order  to  have  a  clean  and  pure  soul,  a 
pure  heart  to  receive  Jesus  Christ.  What  is 
confession?  It  is  to  go  to  the  priest  and  tell 
him  the  sins  you  have  committed,  that  he  may 
forgive  them.  The  priest  has  received  the 
power  from  Jesus  Christ  to  forgive  sins  in  His 
name,  to  those  who  are  worthy  of  forgiveness, 
and  to  refuse  to  forgive  those  who  are  unde- 
serving of  forgiveness.  That  he  may  know 
whether  you  are  worthy  of  having  your  sins 
forgiven,  you  must  tell  or  confess  them  to  him, 
and  let  him  know  that  you  are  really  sorry  for 
them  and  resolved  not  to  commit  them  any 
more,  that  is,  to  do  better  in  the  future. 

You  know  already  that  we  commit  a  sin 


Holy  Communion. 


51 


whenever  we  break  or  disobey  any  one  of  God's 
ten  commandments.  He  who  sins,  who  dis- 
obeys God,  offends  and  displeases  God.  If  he 
disobeys  God  only  in  little  things,  for  instance, 
tells  a  little  lie,  gets  a  little  angry,  looks  a  lit- 
tle around  at  prayer  in  church,  the  sin  is  only 
light  or  venial;  it  makes  a  little  stain  in  the 
soul  but  does  not  do  great  harm  to  the  soul. 
But  he  who  disobeys  God  in  some  important 
point,  for  instance,  he  who  curses  in  anger,  who 
wilfully  and  through  his  own  fault,  misses 
Mass  on  a  Sunday,  eats  meat  on  a  Friday, 
makes  a  bad  confession,  does  great  injury  to 
his  neighbor  by  striking  him,  stealing,  etc., 
who  thinks  of,  says,  or  does  impure  things, 
shows  great  disrespect  to  his  parents;  such  a 
one  commits  mortal  sin,  and  mortal  sin  robs  his 
soul  of  sanctifying  grace,  makes  his  soul  a 
child  of  the  devil,  most  horrible  and  displeas- 
ing to  God,  and  fit  only  for  burning  forever  in 
hell  after  death !  What  sins  must  we  tell  the 
priest  when  we  go  to  confession?  We  must 
confess  all  our  mortal  sins  and  their  number. 
Why?  Because  we  cannot  go  to  heaven,  so 
long  as  they  are  not  forgiven.  And  no  mat- 
ter how  sorry  we  may  be  for  them,  we  can  be 
sure  that  God  has  forgiven  them  only  after 


52 


Preparation  for 


the  priest  has  forgiven  them  in  our  confession. 
Are  we  bound  to  confess  our  venial  sins  ?  No, 
because  they  do  not  cause  us  to  lose  God's 
grace  and  friendship,  and  will  not  cause  our 
soul  to  go  to  hell  after  our  death ;  we  can  ob- 
tain their  forgiveness  by  great  sorrow  for  them, 
great  love  of  God,  by  some  penances  in  this 
life,  or  by  staying  in  the  flames  of  purgatory 
for  a  time,  before  being  admitted  into  heaven. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  a  very  good  and  useful  thing 
to  tell  them  in  confession,  because  then  they 
are  more  easily  forgiven.  Moreover,  espe- 
cially for  you  little  children,  who  are  good 
and  have  probably  never  committed  a  mortal 
sin,  it  is  well  for  you  to  confess  your  principal 
venial  sins. 

Which  is  the  first  thing  we  have  to  do  when 
we  go  to  confession?  As  we  must  tell  our 
sins  in  confession,  the  first  thing  is,  find  them 
out.  This  is  done  by  examining  our  con- 
science. Can  you  tell  me  what  that  means? 
There  is  in  us  a  voice  which  sometimes  speaks 
to  us ;  for  instance :  when  we  are  tempted  or 
intend  to  disobey  our  parents,  to  tell  a  lie,  to 
steal,  to  do  something  bad  or  impure,  there  is 
something  which  tells  us :  "You  must  not  do 
that;  it  is  wrong;  it  is  a  sin,"  etc.    And  after 


Holy  Communion.  53 


we  have  done  something  wrong,  that  same 
voice  tells  us :  "You  did  wrong ;  you  should 
not  have  done  that ;  if  you  were  to  die  thus,  you 
would  be  cast  into  hell  forever,"  etc.  That 
voice  is  the  voice  of  our  conscience,  warning 
us,  when  we  are  tempted  or  about  to  do  some- 
thing wrong,  to  commit  a  sin,  warning  us  not  to 
do  it ;  or  reproaching  us  after  our  sin  for  hav- 
ing committed  it.  Sometimes  that  voice  is  so 
strong  and  reproaches  the  sinner  so  persist- 
ently that  the  criminal  has  no  rest  after  his 
crime,  such  as  a  murder,  that  he  can  have  no 
peace,  no  rest,  until  he  goes  and  confesses  his 
crime  to  the  police,  and  gives  himself  up  to  be 
arrested  and  tried. 

To  find  out  what  sins  you  have  committed, 
you  must  examine  your  conscience,  that  is,  ask 
your  conscience  which  are  the  sins  with  which 
it  reproaches  you.  But  examining  our  con- 
science is  like  sweeping  a  room.  He  who 
sweeps  a  room,  collects  all  the  dust  together 
and  then  throws  it  out  somewhere.  But  to 
sweep  a  room,  he  must  have  light  to  see  where 
the  dust  is,  and  to  collect  it  well  together ;  he 
therefore  opens  the  blinds,  the  curtains,  to  let 
the  light  in;  and  begins  to  sweep  at  one  end 
and  continues  in  a  regular  manner  in  the  whole 


54 


Preparation  for 


room  and  thus  gets  all  the  dust  together  in  one 
pile ;  and  lastly  he  sweeps  or  puts  it  into  a  dust- 
pan and  carries  it  out.  Now  he  who  wants 
to  go  to  confession  has  to  examine  his  con- 
science; but  before  he  begins  this,  he  needs 
light  to  see  all  the  sins  in  his  conscience,  for 
he  could  not  otherwise  see  them  clearly.  How 
will  he  get  light  in  his  conscience?  By  pray- 
ing to  the  Holy  Ghost.  Let  him  say  an  Our 
Father  for  this  purpose,  and  add :  "O  Holy 
Ghost,  Father  of  light,  enlighten  me,  that  I 
may  find  out  all  my  sins  and  then  confess 
them  well  to  the  priest."  Then  he  should  say 
a  Hail  Mary  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  that  she 
may  help  him,  adding:  "O  Mary,  my  dear 
Mother,  help  me  to  find  out  my  sins,  and  to 
make  a  good  confession."  Then  he  ought  to 
say  to  his  guardian  angel :  "O  my  dear  angel 
guardian,  thou  hast  been  the  witness  of  all  the 
sins  I  have  committed,  help  me  to  remember 
them  and  to  confess  them  well." 

The  next  thing  is  to  examine  our  conscience 
on  the  commandments  of  God  and  of  the 
Church.  The  first  commandment  requires  us 
to  honor  God  by  saying  our  prayers  with  at- 
tention and  devotion.  If  you  miss  your  daily 
prayers  very  much,  say,  for  weeks  at  a  time, 


Holy  Communion.  55 


you  should  take  note  of  it ;  also  if  you  say  them 
hurriedly  and  carelessly,  looking  around;  you 
should  tell  it  in  confession :  * 4 1  did  not  say  any 
prayers  at  all  for  many  days,  or  many  weeks ; 
I  said  them  carelessly," etc.  Then  those  chil- 
dren who  go  to  Protestant  church  service  or 
Protestant  Sunday  school,  commit  sins  which 
they  must  confess.  The  chief  sins  against  the 
second  commandment  are  cursing  with  God's 
name,  and  swearing  falsely,  that  is  calling  on 
God  to  witness  to  a  lie.  Ask  your  conscience, 
whether  you  did  either  of  these  things  and  how 
many  times.  Then  the  chief  sins  against  the 
third  commandment  of  God  and  the  command- 
ments of  the  Church  are :  to  stay  away  from 
Mass  through  one's  own  fault  on  Sundays  and 
Holydays ;  to  eat  meat  through  one's  own  fault 
on  Fridays  and  other  forbidden  days.  If  you 
have  done  either  of  these  things,  you  must  also 
find  out  and  confess  how  many  times. 

The  fourth  commandment  commands  us  to 
respect,  love  and  obey  our  parents.  You  must 
examine  how  many  times  you  showed  them  dis- 
respect, disobeyed  them,  perhaps  cursed  them, 
hated  them.  If  any  of  these  sins  were  serious, 
you  must  also  find  out  and  confess  to  the  priest 
how  many  times  you  committed  them.  The 


56 


Preparation  for 


fifth  commandment  forbids  us  to  do  injury  to 
our  body  and  health,  and  to  the  body  and 
health  of  others ;  it  forbids  drunkenness,  eating 
so  much  as  to  endanger  our  health,  endanger- 
ing or  trying  to  take  our  life,  striking,  hurting, 
killing  or  trying  to  kill  our  neighbor,  or  hat- 
ing him,  wishing  him  harm  or  death.  These 
matters  should  be  told  in  confession. 

The  sixth  commandment  forbids  words, 
looks  and  deeds  against  purity;  bad  reading, 
bad  shows.  The  ninth  commandment  forbids 
all  desires  and  all  wilful  thought  of  impurity. 
If  you  have  done  anything  by  yourself  or  with 
others  you  must  find  it  out  and  tell  in  confes- 
sion also  the  number  of  times ;  also  the  num- 
ber of  times  you  took  wilful  pleasure  in  bad 
thoughts  or  desires !  Never  hide  any  of  these 
sins  in  confession,  for  it  would  make  your  con- 
fession a  most  horrible  sin ;  none  of  your  sins 
would  be  forgiven ;  your  Communion  would  be 
a  horrible  sin  (sacrilege),  and  you  would  have 
to  make  your  confession  all  over,  and  tell  these 
sins  besides,  otherwise  you  would  forever  be  a 
child  of  the  devil ! 

The  seventh  commandment  forbids  stealing, 
destroying  and  injuring  our  parents'  or  our 
neighbor's  property.     If  the  amount  of  the 


Holy  Communion. 


57 


theft  or  of  the  injury  is  small,  is  only  a  trifle, 
it  is  only  a  venial  sin ;  but  if  it  reaches  a  con- 
siderable amount,  upwards  of  five  dollars,  it 
would  be  a  mortal  sin,  and  besides  confessing 
it,  you  would  have  to  restore  the  thing  or  its 
value  to  the  owner.  He  who  neglects  to  pay 
his  debts,  or  who  finds  a  lost  thing  and  knows 
the  owner  and  does  not  give  it  to  him,  also 
sins  against  the  seventh  commandment.  He 
who  attempts  to  steal  or  desires  to  do  so,  or  to 
injure  his  neighbor's  property,  sins  against  the 
tenth  commandment 

The  eighth  commandment  forbids  the  telling 
of  lies,  detraction,  that  is,  unnecessarily  mak- 
ing known  the  secret  faults  or  sins  of  our 
neighbor,  and  slander,  telling  lies  about  our 
neighbor.  The  lies  children  tell  are  usually 
only  venial  sins ;  but  if  our  detraction  and  slan- 
der and  our  lies  produce  great  harm,  or  injure 
the  good  name  of  others,  they  are  mortal  sins 
and  must  be  confessed  with  the  number  of  times 
they  were  committed;  and  if  by  these  sins  we 
caused  great  injury  to  our  neighbor,  we  should 
be  obliged  to  repair  the  injury  in  the  way  the 
confessor  would  order  us.  Bear  in  mind  that 
you  should  not  tell  even  the  smallest  He  to  save 
all  men,  for  no  one  has  the  right  to  offend  God. 


58 


Preparation  for 


As  to  those  who  have  already  been  to  con- 
fession, and  their  conscience  tells  them  that 
their  confession  or  confessions  were  bad,  either 
because  they  wilfully  concealed  mortal,  or 
great  sins,  or  were  not  at  all  sorry  for  their 
sins,  or  were  not  resolved  to  do  better  when 
they  went  to  confession,  they  will  have  to  con- 
fess that  they  made  bad  confessions  once  or 

  times,  and  to  make  that  confession,  or 

those  confessions,  over  again. 

After  finding  out  all  your  sins  and  the  num- 
ber of  times,  as  near  as  you  can,  you  have  com- 
mitted each  mortal  sin,  you  should  be  very 
sorry  for  your  sins,  and  make  an  act  of  contri- 
tion. Sometimes,  my  dear  children,  a  man 
takes  an  automobile  and  races  it  around  a  track. 
He  does  not  race  with  another  machine,  but 
runs  it  around  alone,  as  fast  as  he  can,  to  see 
whether  he  can  make  it  go  faster  than  any 
other  machine  ever  went.  That's  what  is  called 
"racing  against  time."  Now  that's  the  way 
some  children  say  their  prayers,  and  especially 
the  Act  of  Contrition.  They  say  it  just  as  fast 
as  they  can,  as  if  they  were  trying  to  say  it 
faster  than  anybody  else  ever  did,  and  they 
don't  seem  to  think  at  all  on  what  they  are 
saying.    They  race  against  time.    Now,  that 


Holy  Communion. 


59 


isn't  right,  and  I  am  afraid  that  the  Act  of  Con- 
trition sa'id  by  some  is  worthless,  is  of  no  ac- 
count before  God. 

We  should  bear  in  mind  that  the  Act  of  Con- 
trition is  an  act  of  sorrow,  of  regret  for  our  sins, 
for  we  then  say :  "O  my  God !  I  am  heartily 
sorry  for  having  offended  Thee,  and  I  detest 
all  my  sins,  because  I  dread  the  loss  of  heaven 
and  the  pains  of  hell ;  but  most  of  all  because 
they  offend  Thee,  O  my  God,  who  art  all-good 
and  deserving  of  all  my  love.  I  firmly  re- 
solve, with  the  help  of  Thy  grace,  to  confess 
my  sins,  to  do  penance,  and  to  amend  my  life. 
Amen." 

Now,  remember,  when  you  say  the  Act  of 
Contrition,  my  dear  children,  you  are  speak- 
ing to  God.  You  are  telling  Him  that  you  sin- 
cerely wish  you  had  not  sinned;  and,  remem- 
ber, we  cannot  deceive  God,  because  He  sees 
our  heart,  and  He  knows,  therefore,  whether 
you  mean  it  when  you  say  you  are  sorry.  To 
say  it  is  one  thing,  and  to  mean  it  is  another. 
"I  am  heartily  sorry"  means  that  we  are  sorry 
from  way  down  in  our  heart,  and  not  merely 
from  upon  our  lips.  It  means  that  we  truly 
wish  we  had  never  sinned ! 

"Offended"  means  sinned  against.    He  who 


60 


Preparation  for 


thinks,  says  or  does  what  God  forbids,  "of- 
fends" God,  sins  against  Him.  "I  am  heartily 
sorry  for  having  offended  Thee,"  means  there- 
fore :  "I  truly  wish  I  had  never  sinned  against 
Thee,  O  my  God!"  Then  we  add:  "I  detest 
all  my  sins."  That  means :  "I  hate  all  my  sins 
without  exception.  I  hate  them  more  than 
anything  else  because  they  displease  God, 
who  is  better  than  all  things."  Then  we  men- 
tion one  of  the  reasons  why  we  wish  we  had 
not  sinned  :  "Because  I  dread  the  loss  of  heaven 
and  the  pains  of  hell."  "I  dread"  means  "I 
fear  greatly."  That's  being  sorry  from  fear, 
from  the  fear  of  God's  punishments,  just  as  a 
boy  would  be  sorry  for  disobeying  from  the 
fear  of  being  punished  by  his  father.  We  fear 
losing  heaven  by  our  sins,  where  God  is  in  all 
His  dazzling  glory  and  beauty,  and  where  the 
angels  and  saints  share  God's  unspeakable  hap- 
piness ;  we  fear  also  being  cast  into  hell,  that 
place  of  awful  darkness  and  sufferings  which 
never  end.  And  that  would  happen,  if  we 
should  die  as  God's  enemies  in  mortal  sin. 
Therefore  we  say:  "Because  I  dread  the  loss 
of  heaven  and  the  pains  of  hell."  This  kind  of 
fear  is  called  a  supernatural  fear.  It  is  super- 
natural, that  is,  above  natural  fear,  because  it 


Holy  Communion.  61 


refers  to  God;  it  is  a  fear  of  God's  punish- 
ments. A  boy  (or  girl)  who  is  afraid  of  be- 
ing punished  by  his  teacher,  or  by  his  father 
for  misbehaving,  a  thief  who  would  be  sorry 
for  stealing,  because  the  judge  sent  him  to  jail 
for  it;  such  persons  have  only  a  natural  fear. 
If  you  want  God  to  forgive  your  sins,  you 
must  have  supernatural  sorrow  for  them,  that 
is,  be  sorry  for  them  because  they  offend  God, 
who  punishes  those  who  offend,  sin  against, 
Him,  or  because  God  is  so  good,  etc.  Su- 
pernatural sorrow  for  sin  is  sorrow  for  sin- 
ning against  God,  either  because  He  is  just  in 
punishing  sin,  or  because  He  deserves  all  our 
love  on  account  of  His  great  goodness.  A 
man  who  would  be  sorry  for  getting  drunk, 
because  he  was  put  into  jail  on  account  of  it, 
a  child  who  would  be  sorry  for  his  sins  of  dis- 
obedience because  he  got  punishment  for  it 
either  at  home  or  in  school,  would  have  only 
natural  sorrow ;  but  natural  sorrow  will  never 
do  for  confession,  for  obtaining  God's  forgive- 
ness for  our  sins.  The  sorrow  we  need  for 
confession,  for  obtaining  God's  forgiveness  for 
our  sins,  is  a  supernatural  sorrow. 

The  best  kind  of  supernatural  sorrow  is  the 
sorrow  that  comes  from  love,  from  a  loving 


62  Preparation  for 


heart.  Therefore,  after  telling  God  we  are 
sorry  for  our  sins  on  account  of  the  punish- 
ments He  inflicts  on  sin,  "the  loss  of  heaven 
and  the  pains  of  hell,"  we  add :  "But  most  of 
all,  because  they  ofTend  Thee,  my  God,  who  art 
all-good  and  deserving  of  all  my  love."  That's 
being  sorry  from  love  of  God,  and  it  is  a  much 
better  and  purer  sorrow  than  that  caused  by 
the  fear  of  God's  punishments,  just  as  it's  bet- 
ter a  boy  should  be  sorry  from  love  for  his  fath- 
er, than  from  the  fear  of  his  father.  And 
there  is  no  one  so  good  and  so  lovable  and  so 
beautiful  and  perfect  as  God.  And  we  should 
be  greatly  ashamed  of  ourselves  for  displeasing 
and  offending  God  by  our  sins,  even  if  He 
would  never  punish  us  for  them.  God  de- 
serves that  we  should  love  Him  with  all  our 
heart  both  for  what  He  is  and  for  what  He  has 
done  for  us.  Why  do  we  love  our  earthly  fath- 
er? Because  he  is  our  father  and  loves  us 
and  has  done  so  much  for  us ;  and  that's  why 
we  should  be  sorry  for  disobeying  him.  And 
why  should  we  love  God?  Because  He  is  our 
Creator  and  our  heavenly  Father,  and  has  done 
so  much  for  us.  He  therefore  deserves  all  our 
love  and  obedience ;  but  when  we  commit  sin, 
we  refuse  to  God  the  love  and  obedience  we 


Holy  Communion.  63 


owe  Him.  Therefore,  we  should  wish  from 
our  heart  that  we  had  never  sinned,  because 
by  our  sins  we  refused  our  most  loving  Creator 
and  Father  the  love  and  obedience  He  de- 
serves from  us. 

Besides  God  has  shown  us  such  a  wonderful 
love.  God,  the  Father,  gave  us  His  own  di- 
vine Son  and  sent  Him  on  earth  to  become  man 
and  suffer  and  die  on  the  cross,  to  redeem  us 
from  sin  and  hell,  and  open  heaven  to  us.  And 
His  divine  Son,  the  Second  Person  of  the 
Blessed  Trinity,  true  and  almighty  God,  came 
on  earth,  became  man,  was  born  in  a  stable  and 
lived  over  thirty  years  in  poverty  and  un- 
known; then  after  fearful  sufferings  He  died 
as  a  criminal  on  the  cross,  in  order  to  save  us 
from  sin  and  hell,  and  open  heaven  to  us. 
"Greater  love  than  this  no  man  hath;  than  that 
He  lay  down  his  life  for  His  friends."  And 
Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  laid  down  His  life  to 
save  us,  who  have  so  greatly  displeased  and  of- 
fended Him,  to  keep  us  from  being  cast  into 
hell  for  our  sins,  and  to  enable  us  to  go  to 
heaven  and  share  His  own  happiness !  Look  at 
the  crucifix,  and  see  what  your  sins  have  cost 
Jesus  Christ!  His  head  is  crowned  with  ter- 
rible thorns,  His  body  is  all  covered  with  fright- 


64 


Preparation  for 


ful  wounds,  His  hands  and  feet  are  nailed  to 
the  cross.  His  side  and  His  heart  are  opened 
by  a  lance !  He  is  dead  for  you,  that  you  may 
not  go  to  hell,  as  you  deserve  for  your  sins, 
but  may  have  them  forgiven,  and  be  able  to  go 
to  enjoy  endless  happiness  in  heaven !  See 
then  how  much  He  loved  you,  and  how  much 
His  love  for  you  cost  Him !  And  yet  besides 
all  this,  He  wishes  to  feed  your  soul  with  His 
own  flesh  and  blood,  that  you  may  become 
good  and  holy,  that  He  may  dwell  in  your  heart 
and  fit  you  to  be  forever  with  Him  in  His 
glory  and  happiness  in  heaven  !  Could  He  love 
you  more  than  He  has  done?  Therefore  you 
can  never  be  sorry  enough  for  your  sins,  which 
have  crucified  Him  and  caused  His  death ! 

This  love  of  Jesus  for  us  demands  that  we 
love  Him  in  return  and  never  more  commit 
sin  and  ofifend  Him,  who  has  loved  us  so  much. 
Therefore,  we  finish  the  Act  of  Contrition  by 
saying:  "I  firmly  resolve,  with  the  help  of  Thy 
grace,  to  confess  my  sins,  to  do  penance,  and  to 
amend  my  life.  Amen/'  "Firmly  resolve" 
means :  "I  am  determined/'  "I  firmly  make  up 
my  mind."  But  we  cannot  do  this  by  our- 
selves. We  need  the  help  of  God,  the  help  of 
His  grace.    When  we  are  saying  our  Act  of 


Holy  Communion.  65 


Contrition,  we  are  trying  to  walk  on  the  road 
that  leads  to  heaven;  but  we  can't  walk  on  it 
alone;  we  need  the  help  of  God,  just  as  babies 
can't  walk  alone,  but  need  the  help  of  their 
mothers,  or  of  other  persons.  And  so  we  say 
to  God :  "With  the  help  of  Thy  grace."  We 
need  God's  grace,  or  help,  to  make  our  Act  of 
Contrition  right,  and  we  must  ask  God  to  give 
us  His  help.  We  should,  when  we  think  of 
our  sins,  say  to  God :  "O  my  God,  who  art  so 
good,  and  against  whom  I  have  sinned,  help  me 
to  be  truly  sorry  for  my  sins."  And  God  will 
then  surely  help  us  to  be  truly  sorry  for  our 
sins. 

Then  we  say:  "To  confess  my  sins,"  be- 
cause no  matter  how  true  and  perfect  our  sor- 
row may  have  been,  we  must  confess  all  our 
grievous  sins  to  the  priest,  for  God  has  made 
him  the  judge  of  our  sins.  And  we  finish  the 
Act  of  Contrition  by  saying :  "To  do  penance, 
and  to  amend  my  life.  Amen."  We  do  pen- 
ance for  our  sins  when  we  despise  and  hate 
them  from  our  heart ;  also  when  we  deny  our- 
selves some  pleasure,  such  as  not  eating  some 
sweetmeats,  not  going  out  to  play  or  to  see 
something,  or  saying  the  prayers  the  priest 
tells  us  to  say  when  we  go  to  confession,  or 


66 


Preparation  for 


some  extra  prayers  to  obtain  God's  pardon  of 
our  sins.  "To  amend  my  life"  means  that  we 
intend  to  change  our  life,  to  make  it  better  by 
committing  sin  no  more;  for  instance,  by  be- 
ing more  obedient,  telling  no  more  lies,  by 
keeping  away  from  bad  boys  or  bad  girls,  by 
being  more  pure,  by  being  more  obedient  to 
our  parents,  by  never  more  missing  Mass  on 
Sundays  through  our  own  fault,  etc. 

Finally,  dear  children,  be  sure  always  to  say 
the  Act  of  Contrition  from  your  inmost  heart 
after  examining  your  conscience  and  finding 
out  your  sins,  and  before  you  enter  the  con- 
fessional to  tell  your  sins  to  the  priest.  When 
your  turn  comes  to  enter  the  confessional,  you 
go  in,  and  kneel  down  on  the  little  kneeling 
bench ;  and  when  the  priest  is  ready  to  hear 
you,  you  say  to  him :  "Bless  me,  Father,  for  I 
have  sinned."  If  that  confession  is  your  first 
confession,  you  tell  the  priest :  "This  is  my 
first  confession."  If  you  have  been  to  con- 
fession before,  you  tell  the  priest :     "I  went  to 

confession  a  month   (or   )  ago."  Then 

you  begin  to  tell  your  sins ;  if  they  are  mortal 
or  big  sins,  you  also  tell  the  number  of  times 
a  girl  that  stayed  away  wilfully  from  Mass  on 
you  committed  them.    For  instance,  a  boy  or 


Holy  Communion.  67 


Sundays,  should  say:  "I  missed  Mass  (or, 
stayed  away  from  Mass)  through  my  own 

fault    times."     If  a  boy  or  a  girl  has 

thought  wilfully  of  or  spoken  about  indecent 
or  impure  things,  they  should  say:  "I  took 
pleasure  in  thinking  wilfully  of  impure  things 
—  times ;  I  spoke  of  impure  things  —  times." 
If  the  priest  asks  you  questions,  you  must  listen 
attentively  and  answer  truthfully.  If  you  feel 
afraid  or  ashamed,  or  do  not  know  how  to 
confess  some  sin,  tell  the  priest :  "I  have  com- 
mitted another  sin,  which  I  feel  afraid,  or 
ashamed,  or  I  do  not  know  how,  to  confess; 
please,  Father,  help  me  to  tell  it."  And  the 
priest  will  do  all  he  can  to  help  you  to  confess 
it  right.  You  must  never  keep  back  a  mortal 
sin  in  confession,  or  lessen  the  number  of  times 
you  committed  it,  for  that  would  be  a  most 
horrible  sin,  and  would  make  your  confession 
bad ;  it  would  be  better  not  to  go  to  confession 
at  all  than  to  make  a  bad  confession,  for  a  bad 
confession  puts  you  in  the  power  of  the  devil, 
and  changes  the  confession,  which  should  free 
your  soul  from  sin  and  heal  it,  to  a  real  deadly 
poison  for  your  soul ! 

After  you  have  told  all  your  sins  as  you 
should,  and  answered  the  priest's  questions, 


68 


Preparation  for 


the  priest  may  find  it  necessary  to  give  you 
some  advice,  or  to  explain  certain  duties  to 
you.  Listen  attentively  to  him,  as  you 
would  to  Jesus  Christ  Himself,  and  be  will- 
ing to  do  all  he  requires  of  you.  At  the  end, 
he  will  give  you  a  penance,  that  is,  he  will 
tell  you  to  say  certain  prayers  once  or 
oftener.  Pay  great  attention  to  this,  so  that 
you  may  not  afterwards  forget  saying  those 
prayers.  Then  he  will  tell  you  to  say  the 
Act  of  Contrition.  Say  it  slowly,  earnestly 
and  devoutly.  Whilst  you  are  saying  it 
silently,  the  priest  gives  you  absolution ; 
that  is,  he  forgives  you  all  the  sins  you 
confessed  in  the  name  of  God,  of  Jesus 
Christ.  In  case  you  later  on  remember  that 
you  forgot  to  confess  some  mortal  sin.  you 
must  confess  it  in  your  next  confession  by 
saying  to  the  priest:  "At  my  last  confes- 
sion I  forgot  to  confess  this  sin."  Then  tell 
the  sin  and  the  number  of  times  you  com- 
mitted it.  After  the  priest's  absolution  you 
will  leave  the  confessional,  grateful  to  God 
for  forgiving  you  your  sins  through  His 
priest,  and  renew  your  resolution  to  sin  no 
more  and  lead  a  better  life.  Then  you 
should  perform  the  penance  the  priest  gave 


Holy  Communion. 


69 


you,  that  is,  say  the  prayers  he  told  you  to 
say  on  that  day.   Then  you  may  go  home. 

The  priest  has  to  keep  secret  and  never  to 
speak  about  the  sins  you  confess.  He  should 
be  willing  to  suffer  beating,  imprisonment 
and  death  itself,  rather  than  betray  you  and 
your  sins  in  the  least.  No  priest  ever  be- 
trayed the  secret  of  confession;  some  have 
suffered  blows,  imprisonment  and  death,  to 
keep  that  secret.  The  priest  to  whom  you 
confess  your  sins,  cannot  even  speak  to  you 
outside  of  confession  about  the  sins  you 
confessed,  without  your  permission.  So  you 
are  perfectly  safe  with  him.  As  for  your- 
self, you  should  never  speak  with  others 
about  your  confession,  about  what  the  priest 
said  to  you,  or  asked  you,  because  all  this 
should  remain  private  with  you,  and  does 
not  regard  others.  Especially  you  should 
never  joke  about  such  things.  In  case  you 
overhear  another's  confession,  or  what  the 
priest  says  to  him,  you  are  bound  to  keep 
about  it  as  perfect  silence  as  the  priest,  and 
it  would  be  very  sinful  for  you  to  mention 
these  things  to  others. 

You  are  bound  to  go  to  confession,  under 
pain  of  mortal  sin,  at  least  once  a  year;  also 


70 


Preparation  for 


to  go  to  confession  every  time  you  wish  to 
receive  holy  Communion  and  your  soul  is 
stained  with  mortal  sin ;  also  when  you  are 
to  be  confirmed.  As  the  Church,  by  the 
teaching  of  the  Pope,  who  is  the  Vicar  of 
Christ  on  earth,  recommends  even  you  little 
children  to  go  to  holy  Communion  daily, 
you  ought  then  to  go  to  confession,  even  if 
you  have  no  mortal  sin  to  confess,  once  a 
week  or  once  in  a  fortnight,  because  you 
should  try  to  have  your  soul  as  pure  as  pos- 
sible, when  you  are  to  receive  Jesus  Christ 
in  holy  Communion.  As  it  is  well  to  keep 
your  face  always  clean,  so  it  is  of  far  great- 
er importance  to  have  your  soul  always  free 
from  the  spots  and  stains  of  sin,  when  you 
are  to  receive  the  God  of  purity  and  holiness 
in  holy  Communion. 

There  is  another  preparation  for  holy 
Communion,  the  preparation  of  our  body  by 
fasting  from  food  and  drink.  We  must  be 
fasting  from  midnight  when  we  receive  holy 
Communion.  This  means  that  we  must  not 
have  taken  or  swallowed,  even  accidentally, 
the  least  bit  of  food  or  the  least  drop  of 
water  or  of  any  other  liquid,  since  the  pre- 
vious midnight ;  if  we  had,  we  should  not 


Holy  Communion. 


71 


receive  holy  Communion  on  that  day;  and 
if  we  would  receive  it  thus  knowingly,  it 
would  be  a  very  grievous  sin,  which  would 
make  us  deserving  of  hell,  and  we  should 
have  to  confess  it  when  we  go  to  confes- 
sion ! 

Of  course,  when  you  receive  holy  Com- 
munion, you  should  wear  neat  and  clean 
clothes  and  shoes. 


IX.  RECEIVING  HOLY  COMMUNION. 


To-morrow,  my  dear  children,  you  will, 
for  the  first  time,  "taste  and  see  how  sweet 
the  Lord  is"  (Ps.  33:9).  You  will  experi- 
ence how  much  Jesus  Christ  loves  you.  He 
will  then  bestow  upon  you  the  greatest  of 
His  gifts.  Although  He  is  almighty,  He 
cannot  give  you  a  greater,  a  better  gift  than 
Himself.  He  will  give  you  Himself,  His 
very  body,  together  with  His  blood,  His  soul 
and  His  divinity  as  the  food  of  your  souls. 
He  will  unite  Himself  most  closely  with  your 
soul,  as  closely  as  the  food  you  eat  is  united 
with  your  body.  To-morrow  He  will  give 
Himself  all  to  you,  so  that  you  may  become 
one  with  Him,  that  you  may  become  holy  and 
fit  to  be  forever  in  heaven  with  Him  and  share 
His  happiness. 

To-morrow  when  the  priest  lays  on  your 
tongue  that  little  white  Host,  he  will  give  you 
infinitely  more  than  if  he  gave  you  the  whole 
world  with  all  its  treasures  and  pleasures,  than 
if  he  made  you  the  monarch  or  ruler  of  all 
72 


Receiving  Holy  Communion.  73 

mankind;  for  he  will  then  give  you  the  Lord 
of  heaven  and  earth,  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of 
God,  who  became  man  to  save  us  all.  That 
little  Host  has  all  the  appearance  and  taste 
of  bread ;  it  is  not  bread,  but  the  true  body  of 
Jesus  Christ,  united  inseparably  to  His  blood, 
soul  and  divinity. 

How  greatly  you  should  long  for  it  and 
desire  it !  If  X —  would  promise  to  give  you 
a  splendid  suit  of  clothes,  a  costly  gold  watch 
and  $100,000,  you  would  feel  happy,  would 
you  not?  You  would  long  for  the  day  on 
which  he  would  give  you  so  magnificent  a 
present,  would  you  not?  And  the  very  thought 
of  it  would  make  you  feel  happy.  How  much 
more  should  you  not  long  for  to-morrow,  when 
you  are  to  receive  God  Himself,  who  will  give 
Himself  all  to  you,  so  that,  after  your  holy 
Communion,  you  can  truly  say :  "Jesus  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God,  my  Redeemer,  has  given  Him- 
self all  to  me  !  He  is  all  mine !  He  dwells  in 
my  heart,  in  my  soul ;  He  loves  me  so  much 
as  to  be  the  food  of  my  soul !"  Should  not  this 
very  thought  make  you  happy,  and  make  you 
long  for  the  happy  and  blessed  moment  when 
Jesus  will  thus  give  Himself  to  you  and  dwell 
in  you  ? 


74      Receiving  Holy  Communion. 

You  should  awaken  your  faith  by  asking 
yourself:  "Who  is  it  that  will  come  to-mor- 
row and  give  Himself  all  to  me  ?  It  is  the  Son 
of  God,  who  is  eternal,  almighty ;  who  has  made 
the  whole  world  out  of  nothing  by  His  mere 
word ;  who  is  so  full  of  love  for  me,  for  all  men, 
that  for  our  sake  He  became  man,  was  born  in 
a  stable,  lived  in  poverty,  died  a  most  cruel  and 
shameful  death  on  the  cross !  I  am  going  to 
receive  Him  to-morrow  in  holy  Commun- 
ion, whom  the  angels  and  saints  in  heaven  adore 
and  serve,  who  is  my  God,  who  is  to  be  my 
Judge,  who  will  be,  if  I  am  good,  my  endless 
reward  and  happiness  in  heaven.  And  who 
am  I?  I  am  a  poor,  miserable,  sinful  child, 
who  perhaps  by  my  sins  have  already  many 
times  deserved  to  be  burning  In  hell;  I  am  a 
poor  sinner,  so  weak,  so  unworthy  and  unable 
to  do  the  least  good  without  God's  help.  O 
Lord,  I  am  sorry  from  my  inmost  heart  for 
having  so  often  and  so  greatly  offended  Thee. 
I  am  not  worthy  to  receive  Thee;  but,  Lord, 
be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,  who  is  sorry  for 
having  offended  Thee,  and  forgive  me  all  my 
sins  that  I  may  receive  Thee  in  a  heart  free 
from  sin!" 

Why  does  Jesus  give  Himself  to  you  in 


Receiving  Holy  Communion.  75 

holy  Communion  ?  Because  He  loves  you ;  He 
loves  little  children,  especially  those  who  try 
to  be  good  and  pure,  who  are  sorry  for  their 
sins  and  resolved  to  be  good  in  future  and  to 
sin  no  more.  Jesus  is  full  of  love,  and  now  all 
He  wants  of  you  is  that  you  should  love  hence- 
forth with  your  whole  heart,  Him  who  has 
died  for  you,  who  feeds  your  soul  with  His 
very  body,  and  gives  you  thereby  the  pledge 
of  eternal  life  and  happiness  with  Him  in 
heaven. 

Such,  dear  children,  should  be  your  chief 
thoughts  and  sentiments  as  a  preparation  for 
to-morrow's  great  feast.  Express  your  faith 
in  the  Real  Presence  of  Jesus  in  holy  Com- 
munion ;  express  your  sorrow  for  having  in 
the  past  so  greatly  offended  God,  and  let  your 
heart  be  filled  with  love  for  and  gratitude 
towards  Him  who  loves  you  so  much.  You 
have  all  made  a  good  confession,  and  your  con- 
science, your  heart  is  pure.  Be  sure  not  to 
forget  yourselves  to-morrow,  for  after  this 
coming  midnight  you  must  not  take  the  least 
food  or  drink  until  after  your  holy  Commun- 
ion. Rise  in  time  and  let  your  thoughts  be 
of  the  happiness  in  store  for  you  at  holy  Mass 
of  receiving  holy  Communion  for  the  first 


76       Receiving  Holy  Communion. 


time.  Awaken  your  faith  in  this  great  mys- 
tery, express  your  sorrow  for  your  sins  and 
your  love  for  Jesus,  who  so  greatly  loves  you ! 
Take  your  prayer-book  with  you  to  church 
and  there  read  slowly  the  prayers  before  Com- 
munion. 

After  the  priest's  Communion  go  slowly 
with  eyes  cast  down  and  hands  joined  before 
your  breast,  and  kneel  at  the  communion-rail. 
The  priest  will  turn  around,  holding  in  his 
hand  and  showing  you  a  small  Host,  saying: 
"Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  takes  away  the 
sins  of  the  world !"  Then  he  says  three  times, 
— and  you  should  say  it  in  your  heart  with 
him :  "Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou 
shouldst  enter  under  my  roof  (that  is:  enter 
my  heart),  but  say  only  the  word,  and  my 
soul  shall  be  healed."  When  the  priest  is  com- 
ing near  you,  hold  the  communion-cloth  under 
your  chin,  lift  up  your  head,  open  your  mouth, 
pull  out  your  tongue  as  far  as  your  under-lip, 
and  lower  your  eyes.  The  priest  will  lay  the 
Sacred  Host  on  your  tongue,  saying:  "May 
the  Body  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  preserve 
thy  soul  unto  life  everlasting.  Amen."  As 
soon  as  he  has  laid  the  Host  on  your  tongue, 
draw  your  tongue  back  into  your  mouth,  close 


Receiving  Holy  Communion.  77 

your  mouth,  bow  your  head  and  return  to 
your  place  with  reverence.  In  the  meantime 
say  to  Jesus,  who  is  now  yours:  "Welcome 
Jesus,  my  God,  my  Saviour,  into  my  heart.  I 
thank  Thee,  I  love  Thee,  I  give  myself  all  to 
Thee,  as  Thou  givest  Thyself  all  to  me." 
Whilst  saying  this  in  your  heart,  swallow 
the  Sacred  Host  as  soon  as  you  can.  Be  care- 
ful not  to  chew  it ;  and  if  it  would  stick  to  the 
roof  of  your  mouth,  do  not  touch  it  with  your 
fingers,  but  loosen  it  gently  with  your  tongue. 
Be  sure  to  swallow  it,  for  if  you  were  to  keep 
it  so  long  in  your  mouth,  that  it  would  melt, 
you  would  not  have  made  your  Communion, 
because  you  would  not  have  received  it  as 
food.  Be  careful  also  not  to  spit  out  until 
twenty  or  thirty  minutes  after  holy  Commun- 
ion, lest  you  should  spit  out  a  tiny  piece  of  the 
Host. 

After  you  are  in  your  place,  for  some  mo- 
ments do  not  use  a  prayer-book,  but  speak  to 
Jesus  who  is  within  you  in  your  own  words, 
telling  Him  how  grateful  you  are  to  Him,  how 
much  you  love  Him  and  will  love  Him  in 
future.  Your  thanksgiving  should  last,  at  the 
very  least,  a  whole  quarter  of  an  hour.  Be- 
fore finishing  your  thanksgiving,  give  your 


78       Receiving  Holy  Communion. 


heart  to  Jesus;  ask  His  forgiveness  for  your 
past  sins,  promise  Him  to  sin  no  more  and  to 
serve  Him  more  faithfully;  then  ask  Him  to 
give  you  His  love,  to  fill  your  heart  with  it,  to 
teach  you  how  to  pray  well,  and  to  grant  you 
perseverance  in  His  grace  until  death.  Then 
pray  for  your  parents,  brothers  and  sisters, 
relatives,  the  priest,  your  benefactors,  your 
teachers,  for  all  who  are  dear  to  you,  for  the 
dying,  for  the  conversion  of  sinners,  for  the 
souls  in  purgatory.  Ask  the  Blessed  Virgin 
to  be  a  Mother  to  you  and  keep  you  pure.  In- 
voke your  guardian  angel,  your  holy  patron, 
etc.  During  the  day  recall,  from  time  to  time, 
the  great  happiness  you  had  of  receiving  Jesus 
Christ  that  morning. 

It  is  the  wish  of  the  Church,  of  our  Holy 
Father  the  Pope,  of  Jesus  Christ  Himself,  that 
holy  Communion  should  be  the  daily  heavenly 
Bread  of  your  soul.  Jesus  promises  "life  ever- 
lasting" to  those  who  "eat  this  heavenly 
Bread."  He  that  eateth  (mark  the  present 
tense  which  expresses  a  frequent  or  daily  habit, 
or  custom)  this  Bread,  shall  live  forever" 
(John  6:52). 


